Ignorance is Optional

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." -- Thomas Jefferson

Believe it or not, ignorance is optional. We control whether we have the knowledge to be fully functioning human beings. This includes the fundamentals of science, technology, history (and biography), government, politics, and spirituality (and ethics), and the arts. The more we know about the things we need to know, the easier and more fulfilling our lives will be.

But what is ignorance? I think that there are five factors which encompass ignorance, and which lead to a painful and diminished life.

First, is sheer ignorance: Ignorance of critical facts about important events in the news, and ignorance of how our government functions and who's in charge.

Second, is negligence: The disinclination to seek reliable sources of information about important news events.

Third, is wooden-headedness: The inclination to believe what we want to believe regardless of the facts.

Fourth, is shortsightedness: The support of public policies that are mutually contradictory, or contrary to the country's long-term interests.

Fifth, and finally, is a broad category I call bone-headedness, for want of a better name: The susceptibility to meaningless phrases, stereotypes, irrational biases, and simplistic diagnoses and solutions that play on our hopes and fears.

Why does this matter? It matters because mistakes are the products of ignorance. It matters because ignorance limits our options for solving our problems.

One of the first steps that we Americans can do to move from ignorance to knowledge is to become familiar with our Constitution. You can learn more here and here.

Learn -- because you have an option.