Well, What Do You Know!

I was with a friend Sunday who is one of those people I always listen to because he never fails to come up with something interesting to think about. In a context I have since forgotten he pointed out the irony that most Democrats associate with concerns that are not unionized, whereas Republicans typically own concerns that are union shops. His point was that Dems can blithely support the union agenda because they will seldom have to deal with the ramifications. I decided to do some research.

There is a revealing portrait of the current Congress at Constitution Daily. Only 209 of our congressmen or women list their background as business; one can assume some are Democrat: guess that about 50% are Dems and the number is about 105. 408 congressmen list either lawyer or public servant; a reasonable estimate (66%) of those who might be Dems is 270. Adding 118 who list professions which are stereotypically peopled by Democrats and the total comes to 493. In other words, the vast majority of lawmakers have no idea what it takes to make things, pay people and deal with unions in the process. I think it proves my friend right.

Congress is not the only place you can see ignorant people with the power to mess things up. The people who are currently making all the noise about police violence against blacks are equally in the dark. The facts of the two most well-known incidents (Ferguson and Staten Island) simply do not support the opinion that the police behaved in a prejudiced way. But the protesters don’t let the facts get in the way of their opinions. Ignorance does that.

We cross paths with ignorant people all the time. I recently heard a young woman who is otherwise an intelligent, responsible nursing student paying her own way through school say that she would rather die than be married – that her life would be over if she said yes to the young man who wants to propose something monogamous. She said that it would mean the end to her freedom. I was saddened to think what she meant by freedom. I can only imagine that she has seen too many marriages that were not of a winsome character, to say the least, and she believes that all marriages are bad. She has no witness to the beauty and true freedom that marriage provides. Ignorance strikes again.

Then there are the people who won’t go near a church because of all the hypocrites there or because they only want your money or because religion is the opiate of the masses or whatever ignorant excuse they offer. These are not unlike other people who claim that they believe in God, but there is no evidence in their lives to support the assertion; they are ignorant of the fact that true “belief” always entails a change in behavior.

This is not to say that ignorance itself is wrong or bad – not in and of itself. Ignorance on purpose is though (see Ignorance Is Not Bliss for an example). To be ignorant simply means to not know something. The older I get the more I realize I don’t know – the more my own ignorance becomes apparent. The danger is in being ignorant of ignorance, especially when the ignorance is behind significant behavior. There is a cliché that says ignorance is no excuse. That’s correct.

 Another cliché says knowledge is power. That is also true. The key to wisdom is knowing what is critical to know. If ignorance blindsides you, you have to know what to do about it. When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” that is what He was talking about. The power to make the right decisions comes from knowing what to know. Since only God knows everything, knowing God is the key to the key. As Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” There is nothing else you need to know.