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Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

yotan18yotan18 Posts: 103
edited September 2006 in A Moving Train
Ok, so you're having a good day...

Then, you got a message in your email. it said 'WARNING'.

You open the mail, you see the carnage of war.
you see pictures of destructions of tsunamis/eathquakes/fires etc.
you read an article about parents killing their children in a 'throw-up inducing' way.
you read of people dying from poverty, sickness.
you see the poor, the unemployed.
you hear crimes as news.
you see the rich and crooked having fun.
the list goes on.

however, do you opt not to know? do you prefer to just keep on living your normal and happy life and don't want to know the sad part of reality?

is ignorance really bliss?
"The Day of Redemption is at hand! Repent, and thou shall be saved..." - A. Ventura

"I always tell the truth. Even when I lie" - T. Montana
---
"Yeah i know... sounds stupid." Aldrin said.

#18 INC forever
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • OutOfBreathOutOfBreath Posts: 1,804
    When it comes to these things, the question is really, "does it make anyone or anything better that you get depressed and despaired thinking about it?"

    It's good to know about these things, so as to wanting something done with it, and you can perhaps contribute in small ways. But thinking about it all the time is no good either. Ignorance IS bliss, but do you really want that kind of bliss?

    Peace
    Dan
    "YOU [humans] NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?" - Death

    "Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
  • farfromglorifiedfarfromglorified Posts: 5,696
    yotan18 wrote:
    Ok, so you're having a good day...

    Then, you got a message in your email. it said 'WARNING'.

    You open the mail, you see the carnage of war.
    you see pictures of destructions of tsunamis/eathquakes/fires etc.
    you read an article about parents killing their children in a 'throw-up inducing' way.
    you read of people dying from poverty, sickness.
    you see the poor, the unemployed.
    you hear crimes as news.
    you see the rich and crooked having fun.
    the list goes on.

    however, do you opt not to know? do you prefer to just keep on living your normal and happy life and don't want to know the sad part of reality?

    is ignorance really bliss?

    The problem you seem to be suffering with is the presumption that any of the things you listed are sad. They're not.

    Calamity is a requirement of existence. Escaping calamity is the closest thing to a universal purpose of human life. A default should never inspire emotion. Only a move away from it should.

    Ignorance is the root of everything you reacted to in that message. So no, ignorance is not bliss.
  • hippiemomhippiemom Posts: 3,326
    yotan18 wrote:
    Ok, so you're having a good day...

    Then, you got a message in your email. it said 'WARNING'.

    You open the mail, you see the carnage of war.
    you see pictures of destructions of tsunamis/eathquakes/fires etc.
    you read an article about parents killing their children in a 'throw-up inducing' way.
    you read of people dying from poverty, sickness.
    you see the poor, the unemployed.
    you hear crimes as news.
    you see the rich and crooked having fun.
    the list goes on.

    however, do you opt not to know? do you prefer to just keep on living your normal and happy life and don't want to know the sad part of reality?

    is ignorance really bliss?
    Of course it's good to be aware of what's going on in the world, but you also need to be aware of your limitations. I really wish I could make a huge difference to the people of Iraq, the people of the Sudan, abused and neglected children everywhere, all oppressed people, anyone who is sick or the victim of a disaster, abused animals, endangered species, our poor beleaguered planet, and so on and so on and so on ... but of course I can't. I do what I can when I can to make some kind of small difference, and once in a while I'm able to make a big difference to one person.

    Beyond that, I do keep on living my life, which is sometimes normal and happy and sometimes not, in spite of all these things. What is the option? To allow yourself to be depressed all the time because somewhere people are suffering? I don't want or expect others to get down in the dumps when I'm suffering. If they can help me, great. If they can't, I'd rather they go have some fun.
    "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
  • NMyTreeNMyTree Posts: 2,374
    You also have to remember that there are a lot of good, positive, caring people on this planet, and they do a lot of wonderful things.

    The bad makes us cherish the good....all that much more. The bad teaches us lessons in life.

    Human beings......are Human beings. Human nature ....is what it is.

    Good and bad........... seems like the balance of our existence. I wish there was much more good and very little bad. But we do live in the real world.
  • El_KabongEl_Kabong Posts: 4,141
    farfromglorified wrote:
    The problem you seem to be suffering with is the presumption that any of the things you listed are sad. They're not.

    Calamity is a requirement of existence. Escaping calamity is the closest thing to a universal purpose of human life. A default should never inspire emotion. Only a move away from it should.

    Ignorance is the root of everything you reacted to in that message. So no, ignorance is not bliss.


    c-o-m-p-a-s-s-i-o-n, it's a nice trait to have.
    standin above the crowd
    he had a voice that was strong and loud and
    i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
    eager to identify with
    someone above the crowd
    someone who seemed to feel the same
    someone prepared to lead the way
  • rarghrargh-brownstarrarghrargh-brownstar Posts: 1,272
    El_Kabong wrote:
    c-o-m-p-a-s-s-i-o-n, it's a nice trait to have.

    So ive heard it does wonders. :p;):)
    Rarghstarfarian.
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    El_Kabong wrote:
    c-o-m-p-a-s-s-i-o-n, it's a nice trait to have.

    It sure is. Ignorance is the real diability, in my eyes. More so than any physical disability.
  • acutejamacutejam Posts: 1,433
    Wars have killed millions more in the past than they do now.
    tsunamis/eathquakes/fires always been with us, we react better and better about them. parents killing their kids, yuck, but again not a new phenomena
    poverty, sickness, unemployed, crime and the rich eating their cake, nothing new here.

    The only thing that stands out as NEW is -- the e-mail you opened. And really, that's a good thing. While population explosion is compounding a lot of these tragedies, the worldwide news coverage is doing some good about it. Awareness is not a bad thing.

    It's the places on the planet we here little or nothing about that bugs me more.
    [sic] happens
  • farfromglorifiedfarfromglorified Posts: 5,696
    El_Kabong wrote:
    c-o-m-p-a-s-s-i-o-n, it's a nice trait to have.

    Compassion is a very nice trait to have. Why would you suggest I don't have compassion? Because I would rather build a bridge than cry over a drowning man?
  • pickupyourwillpickupyourwill Posts: 3,135
    yotan18 wrote:
    Ok, so you're having a good day...

    Then, you got a message in your email. it said 'WARNING'.

    You open the mail, you see the carnage of war.
    you see pictures of destructions of tsunamis/eathquakes/fires etc.
    you read an article about parents killing their children in a 'throw-up inducing' way.
    you read of people dying from poverty, sickness.
    you see the poor, the unemployed.
    you hear crimes as news.
    you see the rich and crooked having fun.
    the list goes on.

    however, do you opt not to know? do you prefer to just keep on living your normal and happy life and don't want to know the sad part of reality?

    is ignorance really bliss?

    I want to know about the tragedy so I can pray both for the victims and the murderers (so that they may change their ways). It probably sounds "ignorant" but I feel that it is all I can do as a person not directly involved with the tragedy. I look at it this way---the only sources you get the story from are the media, and in this day and age you really don't know how much of the whole story you are getting. Why fuss over a trial that you cannot possibly have all the details to from each side? I'm the kind of person who likes to hear both sides (one on one preferably) and then come to my own conclusion. However, I just don't trust the media. So all I can really do is pray.---and voice my opinion, donate to some charities, vote, etc., etc. and like somebody else wrote--by showing compassion to all
    and to all a goodnight :)
  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    My wife refuses to watch the news for this very reason.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • GoldenWordsGoldenWords Posts: 32
    pickupyourwill wrote:
    I want to know about the tragedy so I can pray both for the victims and the murderers (so that they may change their ways). It probably sounds "ignorant" but I feel that it is all I can do as a person not directly involved with the tragedy. I look at it this way---the only sources you get the story from are the media, and in this day and age you really don't know how much of the whole story you are getting. Why fuss over a trial that you cannot possibly have all the details to from each side? I'm the kind of person who likes to hear both sides (one on one preferably) and then come to my own conclusion. However, I just don't trust the media. So all I can really do is pray.---and voice my opinion, donate to some charities, vote, etc., etc. and like somebody else wrote--by showing compassion to all
    and to all a goodnight :)

    Hey,
    I have one hell of a long story to tell -- and not sure how to go about it. Your response caught my eye because the media (I feel from experience,) does have the power to manipulate our feelings and thoughts.

    Years ago - I was involved in two incidents that got a great deal of news coverage. Front page news across a state for several weeks. I was behind the scenes and knew the real and true story. What got reported in the press was so mis-shaped and bent out of the loop -- I didn't recognize two stories that dealt directly with my life. (One was a double homicide investigation and the other had to do with a false idenity arrest which kept reoccuring.)

    I was able to talk directly with news reporters -- including producers for 60 minutes about their coverage. They told me - they had a format to follow. They had to present the facts without assumptions, or feelings. (So they said.) It had to be unbiased in its focus. And of course - the facts could be manipulated for ratings, or to sell newspapers. One of my stories was sensationalized by the press, So much so -- I didn't recognize the story being anything about me or what happened to me. I refused all interviews after a while. For me -- it didn't seem that the news media presentation was truely interested in reporting reality. They had a program and agenda they were following. What sells to the public.

    One reporter gave me the best advise. He told me to write a book about my experiences. He told me truth had a better chance in that form of literature.

    For me -- press coverage is all about Tabloid jounalism now adays.

    Shock and awe --- still going on in one form or another.

    Sincerely,
    DKing
  • ToolgardenToolgarden Posts: 88
    "You don't need to concern yourself with these things. A dog lives a perfectly happy life without questioning them. It is, however, a dog's life."

    -JC
    "Should I tell you my room is walled up? In what way might I leave it? Here is how; Goodwill knows no obstacle. Nothing can stand before a deep desire. All I have to do is imagine a door." -Schultz

    Trading stories with the leaves instead
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