Loss Of Ignorance

Peace of mind comes at a cost. Stagnation of opinion surely instills a sense of comfort and certainty, and modern technology has created an environment perfectly tuned for this mentality. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that preemptive dismissal of new ideas has arrested the development of unworldly people and toxified their attempts at civil discourse. Perpetuation of ignorance through shortsighted refusal to assimilate alien concepts and perceptions results in a public mentality of unwavering self-righteousness. The human race has reached a cultural stage where if personal growth is to be achieved, innocence and ignorance must not be lost, but conceded.

With the increased prevalence of virtual identity, and possibly ever since the public implementation of the internet, our world has, in an appropriately quiet manner, transformed into an agoraphobic paradise. The lifelong quest for distraction can now progress at the push of a button or a click of the mouse. Online services such as GrubHub and Amazon ensure

However, it is a state of mind meant for children, and like all childhood comforts, ignorance must be abandoned in order to grow as a person and foster a mature identity. With the advent of the internet, however, the loss of ignorance and innocence is no longer an inevitability of life, but a matter of choice. I choose to abandon the comfortable in search of the irritable. I wish too see the world for all its beauty and its horror. I want to hear every side of every story. As Martin Luther King Jr. once wrote in his 1963 book, Strength to Love, “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Differing opinions, perspectives, and arguments can be shielded from soft eyes if so desired, but I choose to stare deep into the void in hopes of finding