Ignorance is Bliss2 min read

“Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.” -Thomas Gray
It is a blessing to be ignorant in the sense that functioning throughout the day unawares leaves this wonderful cover of bliss and happiness. And yet, this ignorance is also damaging all the same. It’s dangerous in the growing and ever changing realms of society to be ignorant especially because of the social issues that are continually arising. It’s important to watch what is said, what actions are used and how others are treated.
This consciousness comes into play where social issues are concerned. To be more specific, these social issues focus on the treatment of people in marginalized groups; i.e. people of color, a different sexuality, religion, gender, or socioeconomic background than your own. Every day they are facing discrimination whether it is in the form of actual outward aggression or even subtler shaping itself through microaggressions, it becomes a tiring misfortunate additive to their day.
The examples that can be used to define a situation such as this are endless. They vary from using a phrase such as “that’s so gay” as a descriptive response in conversation to the extreme of not adhering to the cultural values (or even laws) when visiting another country. A hypothetical situation to really illustrate what this looks like, would be to take the conversation between two people. Let’s call them ‘Person A’ and ‘Person B’, with ‘A’ being a person of color and ‘B’ being someone who is white. While they are talking together and enjoying themselves, ‘A’ can’t help but notice that ‘B’ keeps adopting the stereotypical speech patterns of their own cultural background, it is difficult to gauge if this is done intentionally by ‘B’ or not, however it is still offensive and bothersome to ‘A’.
Whether it is intentional or unintentional, the language or actions people use throughout a day or within the company of others, or even on social media can be representative of a microaggression or harmful experiences they have dealt with. This is where our ignorance is a blissful escape, being unaware of the effect of our actions and words leaves us without guilt or remorse. It’s important to be conscious of the effect of your words and actions in private, public, and online. Having an open mind and maintaining a sense of awareness will prevent things such as this from happening. Having this mindset isn’t something that will develop itself overnight, it takes time, effort, and the conscious drive to do better and be better.
So, although there is bliss in being ignorant there is also a reward in being aware.