Like any good Scot, Bobby Burns was in church every Sunday. On one particular Sunday, he seemingly wasn’t listening to the preacher. He wasn’t tied to Protestant orthodoxy. Rather, he was more interested in watching and learning about life while watching a head louse.

The louse wasn’t as large as this one.

Bobby Burns was observing a head louse on a woman sitting directly in front of him. The woman was dressed to the nines. Apparently, she, unlike most everyone else in church that Sunday in 1786, was wealthy. Nonetheless, in spite of her money, she was in essence just like all poor Scots; she had head lice. That was the common denominator that tied all people together from Bobby Burns’ viewpoint.

Robert Burns

That Sunday, after watching the head louse, he went home and wrote a long poem about his observation entitled, Ode To A Louse…On Seeing One On A Lady's Bonnet, At Church. The last stanza is what everyone remembers of this poem.

O would some Power the gift to give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion!

Burns saw the value of being able “to see ourselves as others see us.” Nearly two and a half centuries later, we too would benefit from Burns’ observation. More critically, Donald the Dumb needs to read this poem. Even though Trump boosts that he is Scottish, he is oblivious to the lessons taught by the great Scottish poet, Bobby Burns. If Donald the Dumb had the ability “to see ourselves as others see us,” he would avoid “from many a blunder free” him.

Interestingly, Donald the Dumb talks about being smart. This is his claim, “Throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart,” Really? Smart and mentally stable?

President Donald the Dumb...I know this is a fake photo

Regardless, there are other smart people in the world like Albert Einstein. Einstein talked about his smartness also. “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” Now, that is a smart person.

Albert Einstein

Donald doesn’t like reading. Therefore, he could watch this video of the poem.

Donald the Dumb

Visit the Donald the Dumb page to read more about this topic.

04/20/18