Stuff and things, Chapter 2: Ignorance=Bliss?

Ignorance. The downfall of humanity. Some seem to believe that ignorance is bliss, but is this true? This false belief is based upon the premise that what we don't now cant hurt us. People blindly 'follow the leader', because they are scared what they may discover if they ask questions. People think that just because they ignore something, and pretend it is not there, that it will go away.

Ignorance comes in many forms, whether it be social ignorance, religious ignorance, or cultural ignorance. People would rather seclude themselves from the truth than risk exposing what may really lie behind something. Are peoples minds so weak that they can not handle the harsh reality that they may face? Everyone seems to think that they may find bliss in ignorance, but is this really true? We as humans crave information, but many of us choose to stay ignorant rather than possibly sacrificing bliss for knowledge. Wars are started over the fact that one culture is ignorant of the other; could this be solved by the simple fact that these so called 'leaders' who make decisions are simply uneducated?

The fact of the matter is that we are all ignorant in one way or another. Even an expert who knows 99.9% of what there is to know on something is still ignorant of that .10% that he has yet to learn. People who are aware of their ignorance know that they are not informed enough to have a set opinion on something. Those who are truly unaware of their ignorance walk around with a wall in front of them which blocks off simple fact in the hope that truth will not break that wall. As they say "The truth hurts", which walks hand-in-hand with "Ignorance is bliss".

So, that is what I think of ignorance. Ignorance is a wall that blocks humanity from true unity. Humanity as a whole is willing to stay blind in the hopes that they will be allowed to continue their day-to-day lives uninterrupted. So if bliss is happiness and ignorance is a lack of knowledge, then are we as a society happy not being aware of everything going on around us? I'll leave you with a Chinese proverb that I found, which pretty much summarizes what I've blabbered on about. "The more one learns, the more one sees one's true ignorance".

Next time on Stuff and Things:
I won't read 15 pages on Psychology and Ignorance and Philosophy and stuff.