Ignorance Is A Privilege
We, as a society, praise ignorance. We say that what we don't know can't hurt us, or that ignorance is bliss. We follow celebrities and friends on twitter, not politicians or the UN. We read gossip columns in newspapers and leave the real news for the kids to paint over, safe in the knowledge that whatever "terrible thing" that's happening now is happening far away, or to a minority group of which we are not a part. Even with more universal issues, such as climate change, too many people claim to be indifferent because "we'll be dead before it gets bad", which may very well be true, but what about our grand kids? Their kids? What about the children of the future who wish they had been alive before seafood went extinct? They won't have the option to ignore climate change. The Jews in Auschwitz didn't have the option to ignore the Holocaust. Today's teens don't have the option to ignore school shootings or lung illness, and all we want is for those with power to help us save ourselves.
That is why violent images are necessary. They prove to the ignorant that some of us aren't able to be ignorant, and that their ignorance is causing our peril.
We, as a society, are so deep in this pit of ignorance that we deny what has been proven in favor of short-term benefits. Take the climate change movement, for example. This is NASA's web page on scientific consensus regarding climate change. This is an article explaining our President's adamant denial of climate change, and providing his quotes on the matter. You may ask why he has the obligation to care in the first place, and my answer is as follows: as the President of the United States, his obligation is to lead the country to a prosperous future. We cannot prosper if we're ignoring the fact that, oh look, Florida is shrinking! And so is everywhere else!
So back to the whole images thing. When someone sees an image depicting school shooting victims, or a dolphin killed by plastic, it's near impossible to pull their eyes away. And that's exactly what we need in order to get them to care. Is it the best possible outcome? Probably not. But shooting victims didn't choose to get shot, and dolphins don't choose to choke on fishing line, so why should we get the choice of whether or not we acknowledge what they faced?
We, as a society, must work hard to dig ourselves out of this mindset. We must spread awareness, and change the sayings to "what we don't know will hurt others" and "ignorance is a privilege".
That is why violent images are necessary. They prove to the ignorant that some of us aren't able to be ignorant, and that their ignorance is causing our peril.
We, as a society, are so deep in this pit of ignorance that we deny what has been proven in favor of short-term benefits. Take the climate change movement, for example. This is NASA's web page on scientific consensus regarding climate change. This is an article explaining our President's adamant denial of climate change, and providing his quotes on the matter. You may ask why he has the obligation to care in the first place, and my answer is as follows: as the President of the United States, his obligation is to lead the country to a prosperous future. We cannot prosper if we're ignoring the fact that, oh look, Florida is shrinking! And so is everywhere else!
So back to the whole images thing. When someone sees an image depicting school shooting victims, or a dolphin killed by plastic, it's near impossible to pull their eyes away. And that's exactly what we need in order to get them to care. Is it the best possible outcome? Probably not. But shooting victims didn't choose to get shot, and dolphins don't choose to choke on fishing line, so why should we get the choice of whether or not we acknowledge what they faced?
We, as a society, must work hard to dig ourselves out of this mindset. We must spread awareness, and change the sayings to "what we don't know will hurt others" and "ignorance is a privilege".
I completely agree with you stance here; there are so many people who are oblivious to current prominenet issues. I can admit that I have been guilty of turning a blind eye to some issues because it doesn't directly affect me. I think that violent images and the news that surround it should be shown to young adults, and even to some extent children, at school because like you said many people follow celebrities and pop culture, with no care to the world around them. When you mentioned that the people and animals harmed don't choose to get affected by the issue, it really resonated with me. This mindset is really powerful and is the first step in starting to afflict change around the world. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you!! Your words truly capture the essence of our duty as a society to understand the world around us. It's so important that we remember to take a step back and realize what's happening that we can't see. Violent images are such a crucial part of this, as you said. Beautiful post!
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