Ignorance is Ignorance by Nyenemo P. Sanguma

It is always better to know as opposed to not knowing at all. If we are ignorant by choice, or simply ignorant, we alienate ourselves from what is out there and by doing so, lead ourselves to potential danger. That danger does not necessarily mean physical, but rather embarrassment, lack of knowledge, and a limited world view.

It is embarrassing to see some college students choosing not to read newspapers, page through the World Atlas, or turn on the local news channel for at least thirty minutes to know what is going on around them. Instead, most North Park students choose to spend their time on facebook, playing video games, or getting lost watching Lost every Thursday night.

I was very discouraged when I asked few of our North Park students about their take on Gaza and got the answer, “Who is Gaza?”, or “What is Gaza?”, or “I don’t know what is going on there.” It was funny but sad when I told some North Park students that I am from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and got this reaction, “Oh, that’s in Jamaica, right?”, or some asked, “Where is that?”, or “What island is that?” It is beneath the dignity of a college student who goes to school in Chicago, IL and when I asked their opinion on the scandals surrounding Illinois’ Governor Rod Blagojevich, they responded, “What did he do?”, and eventually said, “I don’t know.”

What some of these college students ignore is that there has been an ongoing military conflict between Palestine and Israel for the past few weeks, resulting in hundreds of deaths in Gaza. And what some college students don’t know about my native country D.R. Congo is, it’s the third largest African nation, and has suffered from numerous civil wars, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II. What some college students should know about Governor Blagojevich is he has been accused by the FBI for corruption, for supposedly selling President Elect Barack Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidding candidate.
It is important to know what is going on around us, because when we do we understand the world that we are living in, and therefore better positioned to make positive changes. If we don’t know what or where Gaza is, how can we act on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? And what does it say about our understanding of the world and our involvement in it if we don’t know the geographical location of a vast territory such as the D.R. Congo. If we don’t pay attention to what is going on locally in Illinois regarding Mr. Blagojevich’s suspicious activities, what does it say about our individual responsibility? It is always better to know because it widens our views, which then leads us to make the right changes.

Students should reawaken their desire to know, and develop their curiosity far beyond what is just required of them in class. Beyond only knowing what’s going to be on the quiz in Joel Willitts’ Intro to Bible class or the midterm examination in Joseph Alulis’ Comparative Politics class. North Park’s motto says, “Preparing students for a life of significance and service.” I am certain that North Park means what it says, and am sure that our professors and faculty are preparing students for that life of, “Significance and service.” It is students who fail to inform themselves beyond their classes and thus limit their ability to make a difference once they leave college.