THE POWER OF IGNORANCE

Ignorance in action is dangerous, especially if the ignorance is willful. Confucius states: “The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there's no cat.” None is safe when power is in the hands of willful ignorance—i.e., when power is combined with wrong assumptions, half-truths, misrepresentations, bigotry, or conscientious stupidity, or when it is driven by fear, envy, or fanaticism. Alas, ignorance spreads because those who have it take pride in it and zealously share it with those who won't think. Whether political or religious, the power of ignorance is ignorance with power. “Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).—Samuel Koranteng-Pipim