Is ignorance bliss?

 Is ignorance really bliss or is knowledge too hard a responsibility to bear? 

Is ignorance really bliss or is it a  narrative to keep people in their place, a means to quell resistance or better yet, stop it before it even starts?

Is there such a thing as being too woke? And if there is, what is the metric of weighing wokeness, why is it the right and only metric that we should go by? Individuals who are so different yet constrained by some objective rule on how to navigate life. Limited to a certain way of life. Quite the irony, don't you think?


The thing with questioning existing societal systems of structure is you realize how proximal they are to your person. Not only do you notice general oppressive systemic trends and the classical patriarchal norms ingrained in pretty much everything but you also notice that they are portrayed in the very same songs you like to get down to and the films you binge watch. Could this be a mere coincidence? I think not. Music is appealing, movies are intriguing. The constant exposure to such art is likely to influence your perception of your surroundings. I’m inclined to think that the more you engage with art or people that are comfortable with the status quo, the less likely you are to find fault in the system. You get comfortable.


The counterfactual to that / the alternative to that would be pretty simple, really. You become conscious of your surroundings and practices that have become acceptable in society. However, here’s the catch. With knowledge, you become disruptive. You question norms and beliefs. I often catch myself over analyzing comments made either to me or to people on social media. I’m quick to label opinions as misogynistic takes and even quicker to call them out.

But with that comes a dilemma. The burden of having to choose between constantly being on the lookout for things you consider wrong and calling them out or living with the idea that sometimes it’s really not that deep. So, can fun and enjoyment coexist with awareness or is it exclusive to ignorance in this case?


Regardless, the bottom line is; knowledge is unsettling, disruptive, discomforting even, but if it were to be considered a curse, I think it would be a far better one than ignorance.


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