Ignorance and Indifference
What’s the difference between ignorance and indifference?
“I don’t know and I don’t care.”
It’s an old joke but one that reveals much. The first part can be the key to everything. There is so much that I don’t know. It seems that the more I know, the more I realize how much I don’t know. It’s the “I don’t know” mindset that has produced every human advance since the beginning of time. What might happen if I combine this element with that one? I don’t know; let’s try. It might be the next medical breakthrough that cures all cancers. What might happen if I actually sit down and talk with the person who seems to be opposed to everything I believe? I don’t know; let’s see. You know, we actually agree on so much more than we disagree with. Maybe we can work together. What happens if I substitute this ingredient for that one? I don’t know. Oh, my goodness, that’s terrible. I won’t try that again.
The “I don’t know” attitude has the potential for great advances as well as the potential for actually finding what will and won’t work. Edison tried hundreds of combinations before the light finally beamed out of that bulb. I don’t know if this will work but I’m going to keep trying. Curiosity born out of the “I don’t know” carries us into the great unknown waiting for us beyond our current state of being.
Of course there is the possibility that that great unknown is not a positive one. Not every experiment leads to something that advances our state of being. Sometimes the “Let’s see what happens” leads to devastating results that embroil us in seemingly endless grief and conflict. If we choose to take these lessons seriously and learn from them, the next “Let’s see what happens” moment can produce better results. Edison’s dogged determination to get that light bulb to produce brightens our everyday world.
But too often the “I don’t know” invitation is met with indifference. I don’t know how to take the next step and besides, it doesn’t really affect me so why should I care? I don’t know why that group of people is so angry but they aren’t angry with me so why should I care? I don’t know why my head hurts all the time but this pill takes the pain away so why should I care? I don’t know why everybody doesn’t wise up and think like I do but as long as they keep their distance, why should I care? I don’t know why this country seems to be slipping in relation to others in education, health care, infrastructure, etc. but I have my house and my health insurance and my car and my little secure spot so why should I waste my time worrying about that?
Indifference is a cancer that erodes possibilities. “I don’t care” is an excuse to lapse into mere existence, even when that existence is producing pain, maybe not for you — yet. Indifference reduces your world to just what is within arm’s reach while the reality is that the time when our lives were confined to whatever space we could cover in a day’s walk is long past. Indifference in the current universe that is more interconnected than we have ever experienced is not a path to greater solutions and a better life for all humans. “I don’t care” now rebounds and echoes throughout our carefully segmented space and invades our little comfort zones in ways we cannot predict or imagine.
Indifference enables us to make the problems and challenges we face as we move into the future become invisible. The plight of the poor, the sick, and the homeless don’t exist in the indifferent universe. Of course, the reality is that they do exist and the effects of indifference explode, sometimes literally, into our quiet, secure zones of “I don’t care.” Reality can’t be denied for long. Pushing our heads deeper into the sand only threatens to cut off our life breath. No longer can we embrace the “I don’t know and I don’t care” attitude. The world is demanding our attention and our caring. There are no safe zones of indifference. Shedding the attitude of “I don’t care” isn’t easy but it is the only path into an exploration of the possibilities opening up in the “I don’t know” world.
I don’t know what the answers are. I don’t know why there is so much violence and unrest throughout the world. I don’t know why bridges are crumbling. I don’t know why opposing sides on any issue can’t seem to even acknowledge anything good in the other. I don’t know why our education systems, our judicial systems, our economic systems and our (fill in the blank) systems are in disarray. I don’t know but I can no longer pretend that I don’t care.
