Ignorance is bliss. This proverb has always piqued my curiosity for all the right reasons. While its original meaning insinuates that there is comfort in one being oblivious of an irksome situation, I couldn’t help but notice that it could be open to various interpretations. What caught my attention the most is the fact that it fits a particular situation that I have been witnessing for a while now: there are ignorant people out there who are actually living in bliss.
Of course, when I talk about ignorant people, I don’t mean to look down on illiterates. After all, each one of us never ceases to learn with every passing day; be it through education, common knowledge, or daily life trials. However, common knowledge is constantly being replaced with what I would like to call “intellectual illiteracy”. I’m well aware of the oxymoron, but sadly not everyone is.
The way I see it, people stopped seeking the truth. Instead, they started settling, thus taking whatever was sent their way with a grain of salt. False stereotypes, rumors, wrong information: they don’t analyze, they don’t doubt, they don’t think.
Although this eerie situation itself is saddening to the point that it couldn’t get any worse, there is always something that would top it; and that is when error triumphs. You’d hear people boast about their inaccurate statements while they viciously attack those with solid proof: talk about irony at its finest. The popular opinion, as wrong as it is, overthrows the unpopular fact. As someone who has witnessed this time and time again, I couldn’t help but stand speechless more than I’d care to admit, because I felt that no amount of words could help change the mind of someone who is adamant to stand by their statement, no matter how false it is.
All of this got me thinking: how can we fix this prejudice? How can we make things right again? The one thing that came to mind in that very moment was to avoid becoming intellectual illiterates ourselves. Because I myself, you, and everyone else could fall victim to these undesirable circumstances, where emotions might get the best of us and cloud our judgement, leaving us both misinformed and misleading in return. This being said, and in an effort to promote rational processing for a change, please don’t take in just any data that comes your way. Do your research, find as many credible sources as you can, and most importantly, share.
Because the world sees plenty of ignorance lurking around as it is, let’s do ourselves a favor by thinking before we allow ourselves to speak. After all, awareness is the true bliss.
Thank you so much Nidae, the pleasure is all mine! I feel fortunate for being a new member of this inspiring community and for being able to share my thoughts on things that matter.
What fine words these are. It was a pleasure reading them, and I’m super excited to have you on here. Also, that’s a beautiful reminder to seek the truth. Think, doubt, reflect – always.
I’m definitely adding Toba Beta’s quote to my Q-list! Also, you summed everything up perfectly 🙂 Thank you for your kind words, Noura ?
Typical Esmee wisdom ! Well As Toba Beta said » Ignorance is a knowledge illiteracy « , by that and as you mentioned in your article, when we lack the ability to think critically about informations beyond its overall meaning, and consider the possibility of unreliable or biased information, that is the real threat.
I have to say that this article really hit home for me: Beautiful, raw, honest, positive and inspiring. Thank you ?