The Big Dumb Meme

You've all heard people say that there's no such thing as a dumb question. I humbly disagree, because I've answered plenty of them.

Usually when people say "There's no such thing as a dumb question," what they really mean is "Don't feel badly about asking such a dumb question," or "I'm mentally preparing myself to answer your dumb question... OK, go." If they are of a genial and forgiving nature, they may even mean "It's not dumb to ask questions, even if some of the questions are kind of dumb." But they never, ever actually mean "There's no such thing as a dumb question," because there are, and they're probably about to hear one.

In fact, I'm not just going to post about it, I'm going to take a stab at starting a meme about it. For this meme, I'm going to ask you to answer three (hopefully not dumb) questions: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked? Why was it it dumb? And, even though it won't help, because answering a dumb question never does, what's the answer? (Or, as I like to think of them: The Big Dumb Question, The Big Dumb Reason, and The Big Dumb Answer.)

I'll start us off, and I'll begin by saying that it isn't always dumb people that ask dumb questions. This one was asked by someone who is pretty smart... but it's still a really dumb question.

The Big Dumb Question:
(read this in a bewildered tone)
"But... if you're an atheist, why are you in the peace movement?"

The Big Dumb Reason:
Being an atheist doesn't mean that you don't believe in ethics, it means you don't believe in God. You shouldn't need an invisible dude in the sky to tell you to do the right thing (or anyone else for that matter). You should do it because it's the right thing to do. We make the same decisions that everyone else does, we just do it without the metaphysical carrot and stick.

And what does religion have to do with peace anyway? I think if you look at the empirical evidence, you'll find that religion is far more likely to lead us into war than away from it. C'mon... when was the last time religion stopped a war?

Now technically, this borders on being an ignorant question rather than a dumb question; it certainly displays a lot of ignorant qualities. But this was a person who knew me, and knew the kind of person I am, and that makes it pretty dumb.

The Big Dumb Answer:
We have one shot at this, and when we're dead, we're dead. That's it. No karmic do over. No everlasting reward. It's just the end.

Frankly, if I'm right, we have more to lose than we do if you're right.

-----

Now because I'm greedy (and because only about 8 people read this) I'm tagging all of you. You, on the other hand, should each tag three people. These are usually funny stories, and since I didn't bring the funny, it's up to you. Go forth and memeify.

(And in a bit of administrivia, I'll get caught up on comments soon, but I'm a little under the weather and I'm absolutely buried at work. Until then, talk amongst yourselves.)