Perhaps one of the worst sayings I have ever come across in my short life is the phrase "Ignorance is bliss". I was thinking about this for quite a while over the past week or so; perhaps more than I should have. However, I cannot accept this way of thinking. This, of course, is a subjective opinion and in no way the absolute truth. After all, I will be the first to defend free will and free thinking. I just do not understand the line of thinking behind "Ignorance is bliss."
This saying simply means that if one does not know about something then they cannot worry about something. In essence, this is a fact. It makes sense that if one does not know something they cannot worry themselves about it, however; if one simply accepts their surroundings and never calls to question the unknown, does that person ever truly live? The idea is that life is meaningless if we do not find meaning from within. How could we ever find our passions if we do not push for knowledge? Humanity's desire to understand its surroundings is a major factor which shaped our society that we live in today. If we do not question everything around us how can we ever progress as a society?
Look at human history for a moment. If one studies history long enough then they'd realize that history repeats itself a vast amount of time. An example of this would be Napoleon invading Russia in the winter. Upon invading Russia his troops were ill prepared for the brutal cold and his force was annihilated. Then a few centuries later Adolf Hitler's arrogance grants his troops the same fate by invading Russia in the winter. Hitler's arrogance and ignorance to history is what ultimately led to the turning point in World War II. Another example would be Japan and China exiling themselves from the rest of the world. Literally becoming ignorant to foreign trade and technology was their downfall. Their ignorance to new ideas and culture ultimately ended up creating the "Sphere of influence" in China and the forceful reopening of Japanese trade by America's Commodore Mathew Perry. It is clear that ignorance is not the way to face problems.
Knowledge is the most important thing a person can obtain in their life. Never accept the notion that "ignorance is bliss" because ignorance is a plague on our society. It is something that should not be a fallback to fear or distrust and never wait for knowledge to come to you. Make the effort to learn each and every day and the reward will be incredible.
