Samuel Johnson argued that “he who voluntarily continues ignorant is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces”. As someone who hungers for as much information about as many things possible, I have a particular disgust for ignorance, particularly wilful ignorance.
Like Vittorio, I too fear ignorance more than I fear death. However, even more deplorable, and indisputably more dangerous, is ignorance combined with prejudice. This union of evil is, unfortunately, manifested in the daily existence of our post-Apartheid democratic society, despite the ushering in of a new, progressive political system.
I call it wilful ignorance specifically because people who have access to Facebook, for example, exhibit the most unbecoming behaviour and opinions on this relatively public forum. It is wilful ignorance when people have access to the vast repository of knowledge and experiences that the internet indubitably has become and has to offer, and then continue to spew uninformed and unforgivable bullshit rooted in a lack of information, empathy, experience and a complete disregard for “the other”.
The reluctance of people to educate themselves about the existence of “the other” and the incredible complexity of the human experience saddens me. It is especially disheartening considering that we live in a political system that is far less repressive and reactionary, and far more supportive to open, honest and constant deliberation of and exposure to diversity. The post-Apartheid state, as far as I know, has not once engaged in a mass, organised and deliberate attempt at censure and censorship. I have therefore concluded that this kind of ignorance is not only lamentable, but cannot and should not be excused.
As if the potential and possibility of the “information age” is not enough, South Africa prides itself on a formal legal framework that is founded on the principle of respect for basic human rights, enforced and protected not only by the judiciary but also by a number of Chapter 9 institutions as defined in the Constitution, which include the Human Rights Commission, Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities and Commission for Gender Equality.
Therefore, wilful ignorance coupled with prejudice is not only unconstitutional but an insult to the very foundation of our post-Apartheid democracy and those who made immeasurable sacrifices for our new constitutional dispensation. Ignorance and prejudice is a smack in the face of a people who claim to “recognise the injustices of our past; honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; respect those who have worked to build and develop our country and believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity”. It is retrogressive and undermines the desire of a people — of a South Africa — in pursuit of healing the divisions of the past and establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. It is also in direct contradiction of the founding principles of our new democratic society rooted in “human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms” and a commitment to “non-racialism and non-sexism”.
If you are reading this it means that you have access to the internet and a number of different sources of information. You have no excuse for being ignorant and you have no licence in this country to be prejudiced. So, before you update your Facebook status again or comment on the musings of another, please ensure that what you have to say, as the great Buddha put it, is kind, true and fair to all concerned. I side with Abraham Lincoln on this one, it is far “better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”.
Next time before you speak out about your perception of African traditional marriages, black people, women or the sexual experiences and livelihoods of gay people, make sure what you have to say doesn’t piss on the Constitution and the sacrifices of countless. Think and be sensitive or aware about what you utter, making sure it remains at all times in line with the anti-discrimination clause (Article 9). This, I am sure you are aware, protects me, and you, from discrimination based on race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.
It is best for us to not remove all doubt in our daily social interactions about the extent of our foolishness, lest we vindicate Albert Einstein through our actions and prove that human stupidity is indeed infinite1.
1 “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” — Albert Einstein
Interesting read and so true. Always remember that there are those who will not change,they are a minority but they are there. The best thing about South Africa is that the majority want the country to do well. We might differ on how we view the state of affairs and even the manner of doing things but we desire mostly similar things and we will work hard to make that materialize.
So who are these “wilfully ignorant” people you’re going on and on about? People who dare to disagree with your take on things? People whose ideals oblige them to refuse to lock step with the inept ANC ruling regime in a pollyanesque display of kumbaya-warbling “national unity”?
Who ARE these willfully-ignorant people?
These are the wilfully ignorant people I refer to:
“Next time before you speak out about your perception of African traditional marriages, black people, women or the sexual experiences and livelihoods of gay people, make sure what you have to say doesn’t piss on the Constitution and the sacrifices of countless”
Among other things. Why does it need to be conflated with a lamentation about criticism of an ANC government (please use the concept regime correctly)?
So, if your only response to the article is a defensive tired and accusation-filled lamentation about my apparent intentions, then I believe you must also be grouped into the “wilfully ignorant”.
I love this article. It resonates with my being. Ignorance is the founding father of all evil. As a Mining Engineer I was taught that, “Ignorance is a cause of all deaths in the mines”. So ignorance doesn’t only destroy dreams, it takes life.
Opposing views are welcome. However, views which are meant to Judge without a base are destructive and breeze ignorance. Ignorance is the breakfast of the self consumed, they indulge in it, thinking that they are the only thing that matters in the world and anything else is less and must play by their rules and thinking.
However, if you are uninformed, speak out and dare to listen when you are educated. Silence, is some times golden, but not always golden.
“Piss on the constitution”? The constitution is only a man-made thing, bound by the circumstances of the time when it was penned.
It IS open to dispute and for all the values it embraces to be contested and defended right from Day One. Nothing wrong with that. That is precisely the sort of eternal thrust and parry that separates a real democracy from an autocracy.
Your insistence that one must never “piss on” the cnstitution reveals what I suspected: that your so-called “wilfully-ignorant” are nothing more than people who disagree with your own rigid views which — in your conceit — you imagine to be the exemplar of how to respect the constitution. And that is to treat a man-made, temporally-bound law as if it is some sort of eternal, sacred, god-given commandment.
The “wilfully-ignorant” are, in fact, the true democrats. Those who genuflect and tug forelocks at the very mention of the word “constitution” are mere pretenders.
A great article, keep them coming. Imagine if we had to live beyond the ‘veil of ignorance’ for just one day; society would be a much easier place for us all
People piss on the Constitution every day in ways great and small. Why focus on the relatively small when the incredibly large is out there gaping and loud-mouthed for all to hear?
But in some ways you also have to turn it around and see the value in these moronic phrases. When someone posts the most unbelievable spew on their facebook updates, it provides you with an incredibly valuable insight into their thinking. That enables you to press the little X (literally and figuratively) or at the very least put them on the limited list (for example a work colleague who is such a moron; one can’t cut them out all together but there’s surely no reason to be fraternising outside the establishment?).
If no one voluntarily pissed on the Constitution for all to see, we’d all have to become mind-readers lest we let racist, ignorant, festering pig-dog paedophile idiots into our houses.
Have you been to newnation, southafricathetruth, boerevryheid, stormfront, christianpost lately! there you don’t only see racism and ignorance, but you lso wonder if your best collegue at work goes home and logs into the internet and calls you by the names we are called on those sites!!