What Is ignorance - Essay Example

to that car; the issue is ignore-ance. Another way to relate lacking knowledge is when people take social and political issues and turn them into heated debates based on fear instead of knowledge about the details involving those particular situations. Fear is the direct result of incomplete knowledge about a situation; one usually fears the unknown. Knowledge is power, that's why many governments throughout the world don't encourage or permit quality education in order to keep their citizens ignorant and helpless. When we take a look at the social and political situations of these countries and compare them with ours, without knowing about the ignorance factor, then, we, too speak out of ignorance. It is not that we don't have the ability to understand what is going on in those countries, or that we cannot gain anything from realizing how their situation impacts ours; the issue is ignorance, perhaps ignore-ance. Lacking awareness is very similar to lacking knowledge, though functionally different; as well, it can be easily overcome. Awareness is the ability to feel, perceive, or be conscious of objects, events, or sensory patterns. Developing awareness is more than creating an information base, however; it involves the internalization of that information in a more cause effect relationship that creates a more personal connection to the subject one is being aware of. For example, one becomes aware of danger by taking in the sights and sounds of the surrounding environment and processing that information in terms of what safety means to them. They become aware through the personal connection of the environment to their personal beliefs about safety. It's not that they are unable to understand what danger means to them, or that they can profit anything by continuing in their path towards the danger. If one proceeds into danger, regardless of what is perceived, then perhaps ignore-ance regarding the dangers that are present is the issue. Another way to relate lacking awareness is when people enjoy the benefits of living in an industrialized nation of producers. They aren't conscious of the serious side effects involved with all those benefits. The costs, in terms of damage to the environment through pollution and stripping non-renewable resources, are never perceived; there is no personal connection. People who rush out to buy the latest update of something; new this or new that, when they have the same, functional object in perfectly good condition already at home, lack awareness that they have