The Eternal Cynic

As I look around the world today I am constantly reminded of just how ignorant people can be and although continuously amazed at the depths of unawareness people seem to be sinking into, I wonder if they are at all aware of their ignorance or even where to begin in their quest to educate themselves and rise to the surface again.

Ignorance as defined by Webster is lacking education, knowledge or awareness.  I am sure at some point in our lives we have each been ignorant in one way or another.  But, are those of us suffering from some form of ignorance truly blissful as the old saying claims?  Is ignorance truly bliss?

Most of us at one point or another have received an email urging us to stop using deodorant because it causes cancer, pass along a voice from a dying cancer patient, boycott an individual because the bible clearly says they will cause the end of the world, or my personal favorite: forward this email on to all of your friends and Bill Gates, AOL, or even Applebee’s will send you lots of money for those efforts.  Of course I can’t forget all of the “inspirational” stories tacked on with some form of “threat” at the end not-so-gently warning us if it is NOT forwarded something bad is bound to happen but if we DO forward it undoubtedly something good WILL happen.  They even include specific time frames for the said events to occur and occasionally specific prophecies.  If this weren’t bad enough some of us have even forwarded them on with an added note “what can it hurt?”.

I ask do YOU who feel the need to forward such silliness on to your friends KNOW of a single person who has died from “deodorant induced cancer”?  Have you seen any of the religious predictions come to pass?  Have you received your big fat check from Bill yet?  Have you been cursed or blessed because you forwarded or didn’t forward one of those emails?  The answer to all of these is NO and yet the emails continue.

Why is it we are so willing to pass along this nonsense to everyone on our email lists, risking alienating friends and family “just in case”? Why not put a stop to the spreading of false information and if your common sense fails you and you still think it may be true, why not take the time to check it out rather than continuing the ignorance? The vast majority of email urban legends can easily be verified by visiting snopes.com and takes far less time to verify than it does to actually forward the email.

But I suppose if information is so readily passed along to our peers and kin via email, is it really a surprise when media outlets, politicians, religions etc. put out such obviously ridiculous information it is eaten up hook, line and sinker?  So much of our information seems to be accepted at face value when more of it should be researched, questioned or even pondered.  Just a few minutes to reason with ones’ self should bring to light a few nagging doubts as to the truthfulness being presented, and yet the ignorance continues.

Tomorrow is an incredibly historical event in our nation’s journey to fairness and freedom.  We may see a mixed race man become president and regardless of whether or not he does win, it clearly shows how far our country has come and yet, ignorance once again seems to prevail in areas it shouldn’t.  Barack Obama has been pegged as a Muslim and Arab by media outlets and even though John McCain himself attempted to correct some of this information; some Americans STILL believe this, despite clear evidence to the contrary.  As an American it shames me to think there are those out there unwilling to see or hear truth but rather stick with what someone has spewed out but beyond the obviously skewed information it disturbs me greatly to think a Muslim or Arab American in this country is not afforded the same rights or respect as a Christian, Jew, Black, White, Indian or Mexican citizen.  Again the ignorance is clearly evident.

I wonder if people could see their behavior, if they’d wise up and change or is the depth into their own reality so far gone they no longer can learn and change and grow?  I suppose the cynical side of me thinks people rarely change and yet I have to believe there is some hope somewhere for people to step outside of the masses and herd mentality to think for themselves.  Sadly, it seems to be more difficult than it sounds as is made clear constantly with things I see around me.

I am sure I could pick apart many examples of ignorance and its effects on our everyday lives but the point of this posting is to determine whether or not ignorance is bliss.  I think to a degree it must be, or people would change.  That being said, people are self-destructive in nature so a certain degree of masochism may encompass their ignorance; although I cannot imagine how depriving yourself of knowledge, education and growth is a positive thing.  There are so many more benefits found with an open mind and seeking out truth including a greater understanding of your own views and beliefs.  It makes little sense to me to avoid or otherwise ignore things as they really never go away; they just get masked by denials and lies.

When dealing with the law, ignorance of said laws does not make one immune from the consequences, as is true with other forms of ignorance.  I am sure the large handful of people out there still waiting for checks from Bill Gates, watching their armpits for lumps, waiting for George W. Bush to make good on his promises or more are blissfully happy with the outcome they’ve received and deserve despite the growing list of unknown “friends” who now sort their emails into the “Junk” folder.