Ignorance poisons everything.

Body, mind, heart, soul, everything.

I do know that sounds like quite the generalization, but from what I’ve seen that’s usually how things go. I have had a fair few run-ins with ignorance and it usual plays out like above. I’ve not only seen it in other people, but I’ve also been so very ignorant myself as well.

Back in the 2021-22 school year, I managed to survive middle school, though little did I know that becoming a freshman was a lot like “out of the frying pan and into the fire”.

Before this I didn’t really know or care all too much about social issues or politics, but post Covid-19 I was all in on such things.
Unfortunately, my media consumption wasn’t exactly unbiased news.

I listened to many a far right-wing political analyst for a news fix. To say that my opinions were somewhat skewed by this would be understatement of the year.

Their views on the world and its inhabitants shaped me like pottery clay.

I went from a relatively center “live and let live” kind of guy into a far-right fanatic in a matter of weeks.

You may be wondering how this all ties into ignorance, but remember, for the longest time I didn’t know or care about social issues or politics. Now these political analyst’s views were the only views I had and knew.

My ignorance had allowed my views to be shaped so easily and for the longest time that’s just how I thought.

Anyone who wasn’t what these analysts deemed to be “normal” I wanted nothing to do with. From those with different views from mine to members of certain social groups like the LGBTQ+ community, I disregarded them without a second thought.

Thankfully this poison has a cure, and it’s a simple one at that. Ignorance itself is not knowing much about a subject, so if you learn about it, naturally you’ll free yourself from its chains.

I was able to do so back in my sophomore year.

After a year of remote learning, coming back and socializing with folks was an eye-opening experience. I met people from those “forbidden groups” and others who I didn’t always agree with, but once I got to know them and learned about them, I realized how wrong I truly was.

This is one example in a sea of many, and it affects all of us in so many ways.

It doesn’t matter what culture, religion, political leaning, social group, or whatever you belong to. In the end, we all have something that we’re ignorant of and we have to try our best to fix that before it’s too late.

I may not have met you, dear reader, but I believe you have it in you. Do your best and the rest will come naturally.