Mount Rushmore erupts!
It’s once again time for our man-on-the-street report.
If you’ll recall, this informative account entails a social media post I see from time to time about someone going out on the street and stopping everyday adults and asking simple questions that everyday adults should easily answer but, incredibly, can’t and apparently couldn’t if their lives depended on it.
Again, these are people who theoretically went to a public school somewhere and at least feigned being in a classroom setting, but who, just as apparently, didn’t do much more while there than take unbelievably long naps.
This latest question and answer exercise took place on the West Coast and came with a very appropriate and deserving tagline: “Meet the dumbest people in California.”
As has been the case in previous man-on-the-street reports, the interviewees were again ethnically, racially and sexually diverse. And as mentioned the last time I did one of these, I have no doubt whatsoever that this latest exercise in complete futility was again on the up and up.
Just like the previous occasions, it was again apparent that not even the great actor Sir Lawrence Olivier possessed the kind of talent necessary to fake this kind of ignorance and incompetence.
First up was a woman of about 50. The interviewer asked her why the country celebrates Independence Day, i.e., the Fourth of July.
Answer: “It’s the day we overtook the South … it’s our independence, our victory over the South.”
Interviewer: “So it was the victory (North over South) of the Civil War that caused us to begin celebrating Independence Day?”
Woman: “Yes.”
Next up was a man of about 25 to 30.
Interviewer: “Our nation’s capital is named after whom?”
Answer: After a long pause, “Our nation’s capital is Washington, D.C. …” Another long pause. “But I don’t know who it’s named after.” (Bonus: His girlfriend knew it was named after a president but didn’t know which one.)
Next, a man of about the same age and IQ.
Interviewer: “What year did Jesus die?”
Answer: “I have no idea.”
Interviewer: “Was it in the 1200s, the 1300s … just roughly, when do you think he died?”
Answer: “1300s?”
Another man, approximately 30.
Interviewer: “We’re just trying to get the public’s reaction regarding President John F. Kennedy’s passing away this morning … what he meant to this country and all he did while he was president. Do you have any comments on that?”
Answer: “I really don’t have any comments. But honestly, it really is sad to hear about a president dying. What did he die from? To be honest, I’m more concerned about the current administration.”
Next up, a man in his mid-20s.
Interviewer, pointing at a street blocked off with a police presence: “Hey, do you know why the road ahead is closed? Joe Biden was murdered here last night.”
Answer: “Oh really. I didn’t hear anything about it.”
Interviewer: “Did you know him, this Joe Biden?”
Answer: “No I didn’t.”
And lastly, a man of about 35.
Interviewer: “The volcanic eruption at Mount Rushmore last week … wiped out about 1,500 houses … the lava and everything. Do you think FEMA is doing enough to help those people recover from the eruption at Mount Rushmore?”
Answer: “I really don’t have a comment. To be honest, I really haven’t been following it so I really couldn’t comment on it.”
Each time I watch one of these things I naturally shake my head in disbelief and, try as I may to resist the impulse, laugh.
Question: Who could possibly not know the reason why we celebrate Independence Day; not know that JFK was assassinated in Dallas 61 years ago; not know Joe Biden (love him or hate him) is the current president of the United States and that he was NOT murdered the night before on some obscure street in Los Angeles; and, lastly, not know that Mount Rushmore is actually a national monument dedicated to four presidents, carved out of granite, and is not now nor ever has been an active volcano, much less one that erupted last week and destroyed thousands of homes?
Answer: Apparently some adults in California.
