ADVICE A FOOL

By TONY PRO

It is often said that wisdom is a treasure, and advice is a gift but what happens when the gift is offered to someone who neither values it nor understands its worth? This is the dilemma one faces when attempting to advise a fool.

A fool is not defined by lack of intelligence, but by refusal to learn. Such a person sees correction as an insult and wisdom as interference. No matter how well-meaning the advice, it is dismissed, mocked, or misunderstood. When the wise speak, a fool hears noise. When experience speaks, a fool calls it luck or chance.

Trying to guide a fool is like pouring water into a basket no matter how much you give, it never stays. A fool is quick to speak, slow to listen, and often sure of what they do not know. They resist truth, not because it is false, but because it challenges their pride.

Throughout history and across cultures, there are proverbs that warn against the frustration of advising a fool. The Bible says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.” African wisdom says, “You cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.” And so it is with fools they must first choose to be wise before wisdom can reach them.

But does this mean we should never try? Not necessarily. Sometimes, the purpose of giving advice is not to change the fool, but to plant a seed. It may not grow today, but perhaps one day after pain, after loss, after life’s hard lessons it may finally take root.

Until then, speak when necessary, but do not waste your strength. Know when to walk away. Know that not all ears are ready, and not all hearts are open. As the wise man knows, not every battle is worth fighting especially when it’s against ignorance wrapped in arrogance.

In the end, the best advice to a fool… may be silence.