Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or information. It describes a person in the state of being unaware. It could mean they are unaware of what’s going on around them or what’s right in front of them. It is important for human survival to be knowledgeable on different topics. 

These topics could include the social rights and wrongs of the world, the pandemic death tolls, the tear gas filled protests, and what is happening right in your school. 

Ignorance, or lack of knowledge isn’t always viewed as a good thing, but sometimes it’s better not knowing the truth. A fairly common quote to represent this is, ¨ignorance is bliss.¨  If you are not familiar with this quote it basically means what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Today people use this quote as an escape from reality. Ignorance could also be a privilege that not everyone has the luxury of having. If you choose to be willingly ignorant, you are part of the problem that halts the world from creating significant change. The difference between ignorance and willful ignorance is simply that it’s a choice. 

While ignorance could just be forms of laziness or dishonesty, I feel it should not be compared with stupidity. No one would blame a child for not knowing about the government or systematic racism. I also believe the issue stems from when you see the problem and you just choose to ignore it. 

The difference between ignorance and stupidity is that ignorance simply shows the lack of awareness towards something, while stupidity shows the lack of good sense or judgement. 

I think all students in or going into high school should be made aware of this issue. If someone is unaware of a social problem or saying, that could lead to bullying or worse. Being completely different humans, we are bound to bump heads and have opposite opinions, but this should not lead to violence or riots, because in the end, did that really do anything? Did anything change? We need to start caring about what’s surrounding us, and what’s happening right in front of our eyes.