I love learning new things. It is amazing how much we can learn. There is information all around us. We no longer need access to a large library or a subscription to a cultured magazine or newspaper to get new thoughts delivered to us.Learning can be fun, it usually is fun. Sometimes it is not fun. Have you ever run into an article you wish you hadn't read or a news broadcast you never needed to see? There is a good argument that not all information is worth having.
Have you ever tried to get a thought out of your head? Have you ever tried to not think of something. It is pretty hard. For some reason you can't remember the date of a significant event in your life but you can remember the gruesome details of a murder you saw on television.
Knowledge is power, we have been told that from the time we stepped into school. By default controlling that knowledge is even greater power. Governments have tried for decades, even centuries, to control what their citizens learned. Churches limited access to scripture so as not to encourage people to analyze it on their own. Control of knowledge is power, and sometimes that power is abused.
So do we consider limiting our own knowledge? Do we act as gatekeepers to our own information gathering? I know it is not a popular thought, but do we censor what we learn?
There are things I do not need to know. For example, I do not need to know how to dismember a living creature. (I understand that is a graphic example, by I wanted you to get my point.) Now that I am a parent I do not want to see/hear/read stories about abused children. I do not need to learn the details of every atrocity of mankind.
Do we prioritize what we learn? Do we determine what is most important and start there or do we take it all in at the same time. For me it is a little of both. I read the news reports from around the world to feel connected to the universe and then I seek out the information I need to solve an imminent problem in my life.
Right now you are reading my blog. It can be argued I am adding nothing to your knowledge, so I don't count in this discussion. Maybe I do. I just wanted to say thanks. I know you have a lot to read and see in a day. I appreciate the time you spend with me.
May we all be life long learners, and may we all strive to absorb the things of meaning around us. Enjoy your day, and go learn something!
This is exactly why I don't watch the news... but I do look things up in the dictionary or google. I think the old adage about learning up until the moment you die is accurate; and I also think one of the things we learn is how to control the inflow of information. Privacy is a 2 way street!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the news can be scary. I wonder if anyone has done a count of the number of times they say "dead" or "died" or "abused" in one week. It really is the bad news.
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