Ignorance Really Can be Bliss

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I admit it – I'm pretty ignorant.  That's by choice.


I don't mean that I'm without knowledge.  I have some education, and I like to learn new things.  But I don't try to keep up with every detail of world events.  I do my best to avoid the constant roar of politics.


And sometimes I feel a little guilty about that.  But then I look at the people who pay more attention to those things than I do, and I see how upset it makes them.  How angry.  How they feel the need to put up walls between themselves and others.


My husband stays more informed than I do.  He feels duty-bound.  Yet in the past couple of years, it's gotten so he doesn't sleep very well.  His blood pressure has become a problem.  Maybe his age is to blame, and maybe it isn't.  But he has a harder time staying hopeful than he used to.


constant connection



Maybe we already know enough.


You see, I think that what I know about the state of the world is plenty.

  • I know that bad things happen every day, and that some of them are the actions of people claiming to be on the side of truth, freedom, and justice.

  • I know that we tend to demonize people who are different from us, and that blaming them for bad events (even when they're innocent) makes us feel righteous.

  • I know that people with privilege and plenty don't always care much about the needs of their fellow humans when they're anonymous and far away.
  • I know that people with money and influence can start to believe that everyone else is less valuable than they are.
  • I know that people with power can avoid facing the consequences of crimes they've committed because they can afford to hire attorneys who will find every loophole.


You already know these things too.  We don't need to be reminded.  Yet somehow, when we see new evidence of these things we already know, we can still be shocked and appalled.  We replay the facts until we're angry and hopeless.


The sun may be shining, the flowers in bloom, the birds busy, and we may have plenty to eat, drink, and keep us entertained – yet something we read or hear about someone we've never met doing something in a place we've never seen can completely ruin the day.





The skill we need to practice


Being "informed" today is an exercise in anxiety, and the internet has made it worse.


Jack Waters has written, "The best thing about the internet is that it connects us to every person, every event and every happening around the world in real time.  The worst thing about the internet is that it connects us to every person, every event and every happening around the world in real time."


Our ability to filter the tsunami of information we see on news sites and social media, and hear on TV, radio, podcasts, etc. has a direct correlation with the quality of our lives.  And filtering what we read or watch takes effort.  It takes a firm decision not to click on or scroll through what's baiting us.


Maybe knowing less about the details isn't ignorance.  Maybe it's a skill, and one we all need to cultivate.


Is understanding everything that's going on in the world, or everything that pundits speculate about, going to make life better?  We might think it will, because we don't like not knowing.  We don't like mystery.  It's scary.  So we think that having every answer instantly, staying "informed," is less terrifying.  That might be why we check our phones so often and why we initiate more than 14 billion Google searches every day.  It might even be why we gossip.


I appreciate those who search out the facts.  I do.  Reporters and investigators do important work.  But the endless iteration and opinion doesn't provide a meaningful service.  And the many, many sites that exploit our need to know in order to make more money and increase their ability to influence and manipulate are doing actual harm.


They're doing you harm.  I say you should be very careful about letting them into your life.


Meanwhile, let's not forget that compared to many people in the world, we are the ones with money, privilege, and opportunity.  Reducing our exposure to the mountain of information doesn't make it okay for us to be selfish or unkind.  We can avoid wading through every single sorrowful detail, yet still choose to give generously to groups that are working to mitigate them.




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