Stupidity Is the Topic — It’s Not What You Think

There are many posts and videos about Dietrich Bonhoeffer writings on social stupidity. They cover this meaningful topic in many ways, most use Bonhoeffer’s writings to explain how we ended up with the world we have. I want to go past this cause and effect approach and look for some understanding. How can we escape what feels like an inevitable outcome? I was and can still be pretty dumb, I have to actively work at not being stupid.

Stupidity isn’t a personal flaw—it’s a system we let shape us. People trust authority without question, follow the crowd to avoid conflict, and accept easy answers because thinking is exhausting. Misinformation spreads faster than truth, and tribal loyalty keeps people defending bad ideas just to belong. The real danger isn’t ignorance—it’s refusing to see how these forces control us.

Why Do We Choose Stupidity?

There are many reasons why people choose to ignore facts or to question the narratives we are offered.

Psychological reasons – Fear, pride, cognitive laziness, overconfidence, emotional reasoning, ego protection, cynicism, nostalgia, etc.

Social reasons – Peer pressure, tribal loyalty, misinformation, authority worship, conformity, revenge thinking, etc.

Systemic reasons – Media manipulation, political propaganda, education gaps, economic hardship, information overload, burnout, power structures that benefit from a dunbed-down population, etc.

Personal reasons – Some past trauma or event, for example.

It isn’t about knowing things, it is about not asking the why questions. Why does this individual, politician, preacher, or other entity want me to be afraid or angry. This is your superpower, this is how you TAKE BACK YOUR CONTROL.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Story

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a theologian, pastor, and resistance member who chose action over silent faith, risking everything to oppose Nazi rule. Arrested for his involvement in a plot to kill Hitler, he spent his final months in prison, where he continued writing and ministering to others. Witnesses say he faced death with calm resolve, believing he had lived by his convictions. Executed by hanging just weeks before the war ended, he did not regret his choices—he had made peace with them long before the noose tightened.

Why do we talk about this man?

Bonhoeffer’s legacy isn’t just about what he believed—it’s about how he resisted. He wasn’t a passive thinker; he acted, even when it cost him everything. So why do we still talk about him today?

1. Radical Moral Clarity – He refused to play along as other church leaders did. While many of his contemporaries tried to “work within the system,” he refused, compromise was complicity and intolerable (remember, this is Nazi Germany). He called out stupidity as being more dangerous than malice because it does not just allow evil, it defends it.

2. Committed to Truth Over Safety – He was unafraid, he had ample opportunity to escape and even did for a short while. His action-oriented practical approach to his ethical views compelled him to return and live his truth. Yeah, he paid a price for that.

3. Deep Awareness of Manipulation – He understood the way that messaging was used to pervert the Christian message he preached and wrote about. He saw how Hitler’s message was framed so that it appeared Christian enough. Bonhoeffer saw how Hitler was triggering fear and anger and positioning himself as the savior for all that Germany was now afraid of. Instead of being afraid, he asked, “who benefits if I become fearful or angry.”

4. Intellectual Humility & Self-Reflection – Bonhoeffer understood the temptation to be a part of the movement of his day. Compromise IS much easier than resistance, but, that was not his actual concern. His writing show that he struggled to resist without becoming the thing he opposed.

5. Willing to Act Alone – Being a deep and critical thinker is often a lonely life. In his day, the risk was existential, in other words, life and death. He often stood alone or was the first to speak out and ultimately, he joined in a plot to assassinate Hitler and died by hanging weeks before the end of the war.

Why do we talk a lot about Dietrich Bonhoeffer today, in 2025? We may be heading down that same path in the US.

Take Back Control

Or did we ever have genuine control? Bonhoeffer had his faith in God. He never gave his control to Hitler’s movement because he gave it to God already. Faith in a god is not necessary to fight for a just and equitable world.

What sticks with me is the words that Christ spoke in the New Testament.

Honor with all of your might that thing that drives your moral and loving choices.
You know you have it right when you love all of your neighbors as much as yourself.

I opened this post with “I want to go past this cause and effect approach and look for some instruction. How can we escape what feels like an inevitable outcome? The answer was right there all along: “We can still be pretty dumb, we have to actively work at not being stupid.”