Trump calls US leaders ‘stupid’ … But who does he think elected them?

Donald Trump, President-Elect Trump if you haven’t been watching the news, has called our leaders “stupid.” He says they make stupid deals, they make stupid military decisions, stupid laws … stupid this, stupid that.

Well, many think he is correct. Many more are incensed by his use of the word “stupid,” and even many more think he is stupid.

{mosads}I just used the word “stupid” eight times. It’s not one of the many infamous “four-letter” words, or the words you can’t say on network TV, but to some people it can be just as harmful and demeaning.

So, let’s use “stupid” as a catch-all for all the bad words we call each other.

Name-calling is hurtful. It’s, well, stupid. Clever branding, whether it be interpersonal, commercial, or even good ole’ “locker room talk” can take a word like “stupid” and give the meaning a softer, even more intellectually humorous, funny affect. 

“The Three Stooges,” Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, “Key & Peele,” they have all taken the premise of “stupid” and turned it into fun and funny humor. Slapstick, physical, “stupid” humor can be very entertaining and stress-relieving. However, when they start hitting each other over the head with hammers or poking each others’ eyes, or using dynamite to get a humorous point across, then maybe we want to slow down and take a second look at what the implications are to the young and old viewer alike.

It could even be the basis of what’s wrong with America. Just sayin’.

Nonetheless, I know a person who is adamant about name-calling.

No matter what the word or its meaning, and no matter what the circumstance, it’s just not to be done. She will admit that she may be a little oversensitive, but that’s who she is — and she is absolutely correct in her thinking. Name-calling is just wrong.

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But here’s the Catch-22 about Trump’s use of the word. All these leaders that he calls stupid are elected by us, we the people. So, who’s stupid? By direct inference, we are!

We just elected a president who has called us all stupid. And we, the very same “stupid” people who elect stupid leaders, just elected Mr. Trump our president.

Does that mean we are all stupid? Take it for what it’s worth, but what goes round comes around.

“Stupid is as stupid does” is a famous quote from the movie “Forrest Gump” starring Tom Hanks. It means that a person is judged stupid by the stupid acts they commit. And if the definition of “stupid” is, lacking intelligence or common sense, then judging by Mr. Trump’s recorded message on the bus with Billy Bush, among other indiscretions, Mr. Trump must be very stupid.   

Randy Newman wrote and recorded a great song some years ago called “Short People,” and it became controversial because many thought it was actually about “short” people. They thought he was making fun of physically diminutive folk. 

At the height of the song’s controversy, Newman came out in an interview to explain that the song wasn’t about physically short people at all, it was about “stupid” people.

Stupid, greedy, compromised, rude, misinformed, nasty people. You know, like many of the people we have to deal with every day. He used the word “short” to indicate these people were coming up short on civility, intellect and common sense.

The song is harsh, but harsh because it needs to be to make the point. But it’s funny. It has a great melody and arrangement, and Newman’s distinctive voice and style make it a classic.  

The opening lyric is “Short people got no reason to live.” So, there you go.

It continues, “They got little hands, little eyes / They walk around telling great big lies … They got little baby legs that stand so low / You got to pick ‘em up just to say hello … They got little cars that go beep, beep, beep / They got little voices goin’ peep, peep, peep …They got grubby little fingers and dirty little minds / They’re gonna get you every time.”

The tell-tale line is, “Short people are just the same as you and I / All men are brothers until the day they die …”

So, maybe the next time you want to call someone “stupid” think twice, hold your tongue …think about how using the word makes you sound, and take a cue from my friend (she’s always right), and also from Randy Newman.

“Don’t want no short people / ‘Round here.”

(But I do have a cousin, Anthony, and he really is stu… short!)

Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.