I was talking with a few friends of mine about this article
they had read about ignorance in our society. The article was particularly
focused on the phrase, “to be surprised is to be ignorant.” I found this phrase
so intriguing because I thought back to all of the simple times in my life
where I was surprised when perhaps I shouldn’t have been: finding out when
Santa Claus wasn’t real; realizing my parents made mistakes, etc. These moments
of surprise when we find out something sometimes does make us feel ignorant
because of course we should have been more skeptical.
I think of this particularly in light of the election and
many of the social issues we have talked about in our class this semester. I
think of the many pieces of history we sifted through where I found myself
surprised when I really shouldn’t have been. I found myself surprised and truly
heartbroken by the election results when really, after he had swept the
primaries, I shouldn’t have been surprised by either. It’s difficult to grapple
with the idea that there are so many people in our country who truly do not
understand things like systemic racism, racial hierarchies; most of these
people are also the same people who claim that they “don’t see color.”
Perhaps it’s the way we see the world that ends up
surprising us. I think a huge reason why I’m surprised and therefore ignorant
is that I have a really positive attitude constantly giving people the benefit
of the doubt when it comes to their beliefs. I’d truly like to believe that if
someone I claimed as a friend voted for Trump that they had a damn good reason.
However, in realizing my ignorance much more during my college career, a force
of pessimism has shaken me. It’s been difficult for me to negotiate people’s
beliefs but perhaps that’s a good thing. If we are no longer surprised by what
happens in the world then we are never truly disappointed. This idea of
ignorance has come in all forms this semester. If we are surprised by election results,
then we are ignorant about our country. If we are surprised by racism, then we
are ignorant about how far we think we have come. If we are surprised by
sexism, then we forget there still isn’t equal pay. Perhaps being surprised,
though, is part of teaching us something new and being more informed so that we
find ourselves in situations where we can speak intelligently on those subjects
that used to surprise us and help to break through the ignorance of someone
else.
We all want to be hopeful. We don't want to be surprised because if we are surprised we are wrong or ignorant. Ok, so we need to learn something from how the election went. But isn't what we need to learn simply that we were wrong, we shouldn't be so hopeful, and that believing we are on the right side of history isn't enough to actually enact that history? Maybe that last one is better. It's great to know that we are right (and I won't give up that Hillary was right and Donald was wrong), but we need to do a better job of convincing others that progressive ideals are right, education is not bad, and someone recognizing their flaws is better than someone who ignores the truth and deflects any valid criticism with insults and lies.
ReplyDeleteAshley, I feel that you and I are in similar boats. It is difficult to give up the hope that all people are innately good. I like to think of myself as a relatively positive person. I also like to think that at the core, every person is good in some way. However, I think something I personally need to realize is that maybe every person is good but that never excuses bad things. It is no excuse for continual oppression or playing into systematic racism. Just because these may be good people does not justify their ignorance. It is hard to be disappointed in people, but that feeling of disappointment is something that drives me to strive to make changes in my daily life to break down the disparities and inequalities in our world. These feelings are things that we can harness when trying to figure out how to change.
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