I hate ignorant people. I don't hate many things, but I just discovered how much I hate ignorant people. I never understood the depth of my feelings until recently. Many of you know how I feel about jealousy and about my "No Tolerance" policy. I feel stronger about this. Two things provided the catalyst for this new discovery. The first was partly as a result of my recent trip to Yemen where two specific images stand out in my mind.
The first is an eight-year old boy standing daily at the intersection trying to survive by selling packets of tissues to people waiting in their cars; despite his hardship, lack of real shoes and tattered clothing, he has a smile that lights up your life. The second is seeing two boys, brothers I believe, watching traffic on a busy street waiting to cross. They were there hand-in-hand, the older boy probably five or six, the younger one only four and nobody else was around to help them, but their confidence, determination, and independence was phenomenal.
Having these experiences and then coming back to the States and talking to a relatively new friend describe how difficult her life was when comparatively it wasn't, made me think she needed to get out into the world to gain some perspective. The second catalyst is a book I'm reading, "the sewing circles of Herat: a memoir of Afghanistan," that describes firsthand accounts of the people and places in Afghanistan prior to the Taliban rule and the results of their ignorance, the destruction of history and culture, and the violent submission of a people in the name of a religion most members of the Taliban aren't even educated enough to understand.
Ignorance of other people makes us forget our problems are small, ignorance of the world makes us think we have the only correct principles on which to shape our lives. I hate ignorance.
3 comments:
Well said. We are truly so privileged, and with it comes great responsibility, no?
Amen. I completely agree with you-- cannot stand ignorance! People get so selfish and consumed with their "horrible" lives and forget all the suffering in the world..people who are dying..etc. I think people just don't realize how blessed they really are.
Ah, Nate. I can empathize with your disgust for ignorance. It makes sense, from a religious perspective--God knows all, so an absence of knowledge is, in effect, an absence of godliness. There is a reason people smile when they learn something new (I see this in work all the time--I am a teacher).
However, I cannot agree that I hate ignorant people. I pity ignorant people. I myself look back to, say, 3 years ago. I see the difference in what I knew then, and what I know now. Part of me is embarrassed that I did not then understand what I do now. But I have to forgive myself and realize that I wasn't born with all knowledge, and I can't blame myself for not knowing everything NOW. Line upon line, right? :)
Part of being ignorant on a particular topic almost always includes the fact that you are ignorant of your own ignorance. So I find it hard to blame the ignorant individual in many cases--they sometimes don't know that they don't know.
I do very much appreciate those who recognize that they don't know everything. What an admirable trait! I almost get chills when I hear someone admit that they are unsure about a certain political policy because they recognize their lack of information--how refreshing, particularly in a political discussion. And I admire people like yourself who seek out opportunities to inform themselves. Or, even more than that, who take the opportunities already in front of them, and take the time and conscientiousness to inform themselves. A person could have seen exactly what you saw in Yemen and not been better informed, for example, but you chose to be by carefully examining your surroundings, both physically and emotionally.
Your friend, describing her woes--chances are she knew enough about the world around her to recognize that people have it worse than her. She probably should have known better, as I very often should. However, to hate that person? Why not enlighten them instead?
Just some thoughts. :) Generally agree with you very much, and I needed the reminder to keep myself informed.
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