Ignorance Is the Lock, Knowledge Is the Master Key

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Throughout childhood to adulthood, one may oftentimes hear the quote “knowledge is power”. It is a quote usually drilled into the heads of elementary to college-aged kids in order to encourage his or her pursuit of an education. As much as privileged students roll his or her eyes at the utterance of this quote, it is hard to deny the weight of truth in this quote when examining the history of many countries. This is especially true during times of oppressive rule. Freedom of press, information, and lines of communication are usually the main thing to be restricted when there is a hunger for complete control over a group of people. The shadow of ignorance is used to blind the oppressed and keep/hide them in the dark from any potential aid.

In 1989, student demonstrations broke out in Beijing, China in Tiananmen Square. Since the 1970s, China was going through economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping, China’s leader. As time went on complaints were being made over inflation, low job opportunities, and suspected corruption in the national party. The Communist governments of Eastern Europe were failing, causing unrest and lost of faith amongst the Chinese citizens. The breaking point was “the death of reformist CCP general secretary Hu Yaobang” on April 15th of 1989 (Online). Students congregated in the square to mourn Yaobang’s death. According to the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China the government-run press fabricated what truly going on and attempted to taint the image of the protesters:

The party mouthpiece, People’s Daily, published an editorial on 26 April accusing a “handful of plotters” of creating “turmoil” with the object of overthrowing the regime. The next day, 200,000 students from over forty universities marched to the squ...

... middle of paper ...

...ite the wicked mistreatment of the slave. Despite being unhappy with their situation, the slaves could not effectively rebel because they did not have enough knowledge and information to do so.

Knowledge truly is a power that can be used to help you or used against you. It can help you be in control or be controlled. For this reason, freedom of press and speech are constantly being fought for in many civil wars. Without knowledge, a person is subjected to the control of a person with greater knowledge.

Works Cited

James, C.L.R. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Overture and the San Domingo Revolution. 2nd ed. Revised. New York: Vintage, 1989.

"Tiananmen Square." Berkshire Encyclopedia of China: Modern and Historic Views of the

World's Newest and Oldest Global Power. Great Barrington: Berkshire Publishing

Group, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 10 May 2012.

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