Word(s) of the Week (WOW)

Ignorance is Strength

The title of my blog is one i used once upon a time for an old blog because of its connection with the George Orwell novel, 1984. The government in the book, much like many governments throughout history tries to control the people through strict limits on what they can say and do. Most everything is named ironically, i.e. the Ministry of Truth, which doctors photographs and makes up heroic fictional party members and data, facts and figures of false good news.

The party propoganda which is dsitributed includes statements such as, "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," and "Ignorance is Strength." Much of the book parallels the theories present in Nazi Germany and Communist China, that dissent is unpatriotic and dangerous because dissent is the opposite of unity. Like a person who thinks they will become wiser by ignoring criticism or self-reflection, resulting in doubt or indecision in the short term and possible growth in the long term, these systems rely on the necessity of general ignorance in order to insure blind obedience. Awareness breeds weakness if dissent is considered weakness rather than a means to grow and strengthen.

Every single person in history who made any significant contribution was a dissenter, a rebel or a person with a question. Ignorant people are soon forgotten. For me, this phrase, "Ignroance is Strength," is the banner of every dangerous movement, every book burner, every sercret policeman who imprisons scholars and marchers, every government that locks up its citizens for being different or denies or covers up the mistakes of its past flies this banner high. So as a reminder, in its simplicity and irony, it is my blog title. The pictures it hovers over are representative of dissenters in various films who would be neither silent nor ignorant in word or in action*. Here's to dissenters and rebels because without them, there'd be no churches and no Christian faith.

*If you can name each hero and their film, 100 points to you.*