Ignorance: let's talk about.
At The Impudent Iconoclast we strive to maintain political and religious neutrality. Our goal is to address popular arguments and draw attention to the ignorance and fallacies that overwhelm post-modern rhetoric. By abstaining from affiliation we hopefully avoid interjecting commentary to allow the reader to unemotionally receive and understand the argument quickly and without internal distractions. Unfortunately ignorance is prevalent and rampant and there are many challenges to be addressed.
All too often ignorance surfaces and it is almost impossible to identify, much less control. It is by its own definition unrecognizable. One must proactively take difficult and challenging steps to determine and correct their own ignorance. Compounding the problem there are several kinds of ignorance.
Some types of ignorance include external ignorance, empathy ignorance, and self ignorance. External ignorance is one of the easiest to identify and correct. For example current events: today one of the biggest and most destructive cyclones ever recorded made landfall in Australia and yet in America the news of it was confined to a few seconds long blurb. Hundreds of thousands of people across the globe are protesting government leadership in various countries, most notably Egypt, and yet politicians, pundits, and average people all seem to have clear and defined opinions as to wrong and right in each of these situations when it is likely they themselves have never been to these countries, met a citizen of these countries, could identify these countries on a map, or could name a single person from these countries. And while we at II cannot claim superiority on these matters nor claim that it is improper or unhealthy to form opinions on world events, we beg that you recognize and remember that your knowledge on these matters is ignorant and simplifying or closing your mind on the matters is unacceptable.
In the Egyptian debate we would like to think that the protests stem from a purely pro-democracy movement when in reality there are also pro-theocratic, anti-establishment, and others with large reach, influence and power that confuse the situation. In which case it makes blanket solidarity unwise because it reflects one's ignorance. We sometimes frown upon ignorance because it can; in some instances, stem from judgement. And there is a mechanism in the human psyche that immediately recognizes and disdains injustice.
Injustice is often the result of or connected to empathy ignorance. I once had a friend that was kidnapped and raped at gunpoint. Due to my own external ignorance I did not know that for many years after. While I considered them a friend I often passed judgement in the course of our interactions that unfairly distorted my perspective. I once passed along to them an invitation to an unconventional Christian church. In my mind I had judged that person to be as open-minded as they had previously professed and knowing they had a history of attending church I thought it would be great opportunity for the both of us to experience something new and address some ignorance of our own. When the invitation was refused I judged it and the manner of the refusal harshly. When my external ignorance of my friend's background was corrected I started to understand some of their decision making processes. But it was not until I was able to address my empathy ignorance that i was able to understand my own judgments and then work to correct them. I had sometimes attributed chemical imbalances or hypocrisy to some of their decisions or the opinions they had. And this injustice of opinion to my friend has led to feelings of guilt and shame; the same feelings one gets when they recognize their own external ignorance; and slightly less traumatic than recognizing one's self ignorance.
Self ignorance is the most difficult to recognize and exponentially difficult ignorance to correct. The longer one views the world from a single perspective the thicker the lens grows on their rose-tinted spectacles. It is sometimes referred to as a comfort zone. We hardwire into our brains a flow chart for which our decisions are made.
Eat Fish? -> Do I like fish? -> No -> Don't eat fish.
Is Obama right about healthcare? -> Do I like Democrats? -> No -> Obama is wrong.
The trouble is our objective framework attempts to categorize and classify things that lead to wrong decisions. Why? Ignorance.
Will I like sushi? -> I don't like fish -> I hate sushi.
For decades I denounced sushi and vehemently passed judgement on those who ate it and enjoyed it before I had ever tried it. However I identified the ignorance and have tried it on several occasions. It has proven hard and seemingly impossible for me to come to accept it which shows that battling one's self ignorance is not simple or quick.
Self ignorance often manifests itself in fear. A common tautological adage is the "fear of the unknown." Fear leads to hate; and hate leads to injustice. Examples include racism and misogyny. And yet we are all guilty.
Therefore:
If there is one thing that II would like to communicate via this post or throughout the whole blog is that ignorance is curable. It is altogether necessary and important to develop internal and objective frameworks in our minds to assess situations, form opinions, and judge people. This allows us to make timely and critical decisions.
There is a truck speeding towards me. -> Do I like living? -> Yes. -> Run.
However we must recognize that while our objective structures help us at times, our subsequent judgments are not necessarily objective. The challenge is to not be lazy about it. Once we realize that we base many of our decisions or beliefs in ignorance then can we truly begin to learn and understand; which begets wisdom. And wisdom is the noble goal all should strive for and the impetus for The Impudent Iconoclast.
When considering the cure for ignorance remember there is a significant difference between knowledge and wisdom. Someone once said "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." One might be able to cure external ignorance with knowledge, but only the wise can use it to cure self ignorance. So here are some steps that we at II agree one can undertake that will help cure some ignorance and that will lead to happy and sagacious readers:
1) Gather Knowledge: We live in a tremendous era where information is free and easily accessible. We have the internet, 24 hour news stations, cheap flights overseas, melting pot cultures, international cuisines, and social networks were one's exposure is only limited to one's imagination. Incongruously there is too much information available which sometimes encourages ignorance. As stated earlier cured ignorance precipitates guilt. The human mind was not built for nor can handle the massive amount of information we receive. Those that are tuned in know of the cyclone in Australia, the holocaust in Sudan, or the Taliban in Afghanistan. What bothers some is the apathy one feels when the tragic news is received. People are often quick to judge celebrities for picking single causes to campaign for because their mother or child were affected by something. We accuse leaders who focus on one issue for neglecting other important issues. As much as we would like we simply cannot address or emotionally invest ourselves into every issue we are confronted with. It is not healthy nor does it help solve the issues we are passionate about.
2) Pick an Ignorance To Solve: There are thousands of homeless on the streets in the city and one cannot help them all. A person can donate money or time to a charity and while that may gratify the most superficial of desires and stave of some of the guilt, it will not satiate the hunger for justice: namely it will not cure the ignorance. However if one were to pour their life into a single homeless person to get them a job and a home and their health then one can rest easy in the knowledge it brings and the wisdom one gains. For myself I tried sushi even though when I have eaten cooked fish in the past I have reacted violently. I also became a vegan for a week because I am always quick to judge them negatively.
3) Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: I tried veganism in an empathetic attempt to break the objective decision making structures I had built in my head. The more a person can destroy these little structures the easier it becomes to break the paradigms one operates from that was built in ignorance. It is called broadening your horizons because if one is only staring down the road to get to the destination then one is neglecting the other routes along the horizon that lead to the same goal: in other words, ignorance. Up until last year I had an ignorant and negative position on Korea and Koreans. I do not think that five years ago before I started traveling that I would have been able to spend some time in Korea and alter my perception. But because I have been able to get out of my comfort zone in graduated steps by traveling to different places around the world I assuaged the inevitable culture shock of visiting the country and was able to experience it with an open mind and correct my ignorance. My new corrected judgement of Korea comes with great fondness and admiration. However wisdom tells me those feelings are too probably based some other ignorance; an unknown unknown if you will. Which leads to the last step for helping one identify and correct their ignorance.
4) Foster Honest and Open Relationships: Gathering knowledge, picking an ignorance, and breaking your comfort zone are all shotgun based approaches for curing one's ignorance. For a more surgical strike a wise person needs honest communication with family and friends that challenge and confront their ignorance. For some reason I have always sought out those with unique perspectives: the redneck that loves rap, the Christian that has read Anton LeVey, or the hippie with an MBA. Coincidentally, two of my best friends are a hardcore liberal and a hardcore conservative. They both challenge me in different ways to view situations from different perspectives and confront different ignorances. A person is not designed to self identify ignorance. Only through human interaction is this achieved. And once we are able to identify our own ignorances can wisdom be gained.
It is fundamentally necessary to develop opinions, argue them, and pass judgments. Although it is crucial that a person understand that the method used to form these opinions may have been based on ignorance. The only way to justify oneself is through humility and constant abrasion with one's own ignorance by gathering knowledge, focusing your energy, challenging your perspective, and fostering friendships.
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