Contemporary American culture is rife with examples of glorifying stupidity.

Before I begin, it is necessary to outline specifically what I am to establish in this debate. As stated in the introductory round, "the purpose of this debate will be to examine if it is the case or not the case that "Contemporary American culture is rife with examples of glorifying stupidity. " Stupidity, for this debate shall include but not be limited to states, acts or facts of being stupid, where "stupid" means (1) that which is lacking keenness of mind, (2) characterized by or emanating from a stance of dullness, foolishness or senselessness, (3) that which is tedious or dull, especially where this is so from a lacking of meaning or sense, (4) annoying, irritating or troublesome AND/OR (5) having proceeded from a state of stupor, where stupor means a suspension or great diminution of sense or sensibility. The verb "to glorify" means: (1) to cause to be or treat as being more splendid, excellent, etc. , than would normally be considered, (2) to honor with praise, admiration, or worship; to extol, (3) to make glorious; invest with glory AND/OR (5) to worship. "Glorifying" may be recognized by acts of veneration, praise, worship and/or celebration. To satisfy my burden of proof, I must establish several (more than one) examples of glorified stupidity which may be sufficiently proven by satisfying one or more of the conditions listed above in each respective definition. "Rife" shall be considered to be more than one significant example of glorified stupidity. Moreover, because the debate is about those influences which are significant in American culture, those Non-Americian examples of the cultural glorification of stupidity which have substantial impact on American culture shall be given equal weight as American influences to American culture. So, to summarize: I will demonstrate several examples of (1) things which are stupid, and (2) that they are glorified in American culture. (1) The Case of "Mama" and "Honey Boo Boo" . http://www.youtube.com... "Mama" -affectionately known- refers to her daughter as "Honey Boo Boo," as well as "Smoochy" and "tee tee. " They are part of a widely viewed reality TV show, ironically aired on TLC called "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. " The aforementioned show is centered on Honey Boo Boo's participation in child beauty pageants. Season one of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" was watched on average by more than 2 million people per episode (Wikipedia). So, there are two aspects of stupidity to be examined here: the first being the show itself as well as the individuals on which the show is centered, and the second being the subject matter on which the subject is based. As previously mentioned, if which lacks keenness of mind is stupid, it follows that those individuals who lack keenness of mind are themselves stupid. That is not, however, to say that those individuals who are themselves stupid are bad people, but rather that they are below a common, mediocre level of cognitive brightness. Some examples of stupidity on the show are included in the second video. As Jimmy Kimmel noted, it "makes Jersey Shore look like Downton Abbey. " As cited in the video examples, the individuals on the show (1) lack good judgment and (2) seem to take pleasure in their own destruction; both of which demonstrate their stupidity. . http://www.youtube.com... The cultural prominence of the phenomenon of this show has been staggering. As previously mentioned, on average more than two million Americans watched episode of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" last fall. It is noted as having had on occasion higher ratings than both the Republican National Convention (Hollywood Reporter), The Big Bang Theory (one of my favorite shows), Family Guy, American Dad, Storage Wars, Royal Pains, The Daily Show, Hannity, The Colbert Report, Top Chef and Robot Chicken -to list a few (Nielson TV Ratings). Both the prominence of the show from the extent of its viewership, and its relative position to other American TV shows demonstrate that it is glorified. This is the case because being a cultural phenomenon associated with the sticks of Georgia, it would have been otherwise ignored. That it is viewed by as many as it is indicates that it is treated as being more splendid, excellent, etc. , than it would normally be considered. (2) The Case of Jersey Shore Surely, glorified stupidity in the United States exists beyond the South Georgian landscape. Indeed, so too is stupidly from New Jersey glorified in American Culture much in the same fashion that "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" is. The MTV based reality show which celebrated "guido/guidette" culture has received more than 2.1 million views for its episodes (TV By The Numbers). The life-model of the 'guidos' of Jersey Shore is as simple as it is stupid: "gym, tan and loopback" or "gym, tan, laundry" abbreviated as GTL, and has been criticized for exploiting stereotypes of Italian Americans (TV By The Numbers). Despite the criticism, it's ratings only improved before the show was canceled. It remains a cultural phenomenon as figures like "Snooki" and "Jwow" as well as Mike, who refers to himself as "The Situation" remain relevant actors to American Culture. Gratuitous examples of Jersey Shore Stupidity are cited in the videos, beginning with the "wisdom" of Snooki, some highlights of the season and outbursts of violence. From both the nature of the show, and the extent of it's viewership, we conclude that this too is an example of glorified stupidity in American culture. . http://www.youtube.com... . http://www.youtube.com... . http://www.youtube.com... To conclude, to satisfy that Americian Culture was rife with examples of glorified stupidity, I stipulated only that I needed more than one. I have listed two, so I have satisfied my BOP. Please vote pro, especially if you're been laughing at all of this hilarious nonsense or even if you think it's just all nonsense. I reserve the right to introduce more examples, as to do so would be to rebut any counterclaims to the arguments of my opponent, and I look foreword to the next round. Peace out. . http://en.wikipedia.org... . http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com... . http://www.hollywoodreporter.com... . http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com...