Part of the series First Things First
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2015-10-05.
To be ignorant maybe normal, but it should not be a place of comfort. We should all be seeking to fix it if the opportunity or need presents itself.
We are generally all ignorant of what is actually happening around us. This ignorance can either be perpetuated and capitalized upon or fixed to empower the masses. It is time to enlighten home educators who have generally been kept in the dark respecting what is occurring within their community. (Ephesians 4: 11-16)
Bible Reference: 1 Tim 2:1-6
Although the word ignorant or ignorance is sometimes used to mean uneducated, unread, unsophisticated or some other “un” word generally used to mean “stupid”, that is not the intention here. Ignorance actually means lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact. To be uninformed or unaware of certain things is to be ignorant of them. Everyone is ignorant of something as no one can know everything there is to know. In fact what makes life interesting is that others will usually know more than you do about something outside of your experience. If your life mission includes a quest for knowledge and truth, as it should, then your ignorance of a matter becomes the motivator to learning about the things you know little about.
In the movie Forest Gump, he often repeats, “Stupid is what stupid does”, something his mother has taught him from his youth. He has learned that to choose to not learn when the opportunity or need is presented is to be willfully ignorant and doing that is “stupid”, a truth advanced by a character that was portrayed as not very intelligent. Maybe he wasn’t all that intelligent but he was not “stupid”.
Ignorance, therefore, can be willfully sought or unwittingly established, meaning that people are either ignorant because they choose to be or because there is a system is in place to keep people “in the dark”, or ignorant of what is really going on. Often, ignorance exists simply because people fail to “connect the dots”, so to speak. Sincere folks can find themselves advancing factual error simply because they have failed to think things through. If the premise upon which you are offering opinion or advice is in error, it can be assumed that the counsel will be suspect as well.
Ignorance can also be prevalent when only one side of an issue is being presented. Not knowing that there is an alternative, can lead to believing that what we do know is the truth. I once witnessed a man who had been a believer all his life, yet was shocked to hear that creation was still a viable explanation for the origin of things. He was an evolutionist by default, not by design as he had simply never been exposed to anything but evolution. This, unfortunately, is far more common than it should be. The academic world, media and tradition all contribute to a “politically correct” version of the truth, designed to keep people in ignorance.
The most important questions one can ask always has to do with finding the truth so we can minimize the ignorance and associated error. Those who would not ask questions are generally those who are comfortable in their ignorance, which is often said to be associated with bliss. Blissful as ignorance may be, it is not a formula for success. Not knowing the truth means that the alternative is believed. Most should understand that if it is not true, then it is a lie. We are constantly being exposed to variations on the truth which can only be variations of lies. CS Lewis stated once that the best lie is 95% true. Unfortunately, most of what we believe is just that, almost true, but not quite.
Those who would manipulate us are not only encouraged when they perceive that we are ignorant, but will often perpetuate this ignorance to their advantage. If we are to be free, we need to be informed. Ignorance is our greatest enemy, no matter what the issue.