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Ignorance is Bliss(?) (WAKE UP SHEEPLE) // Jackson Riddle

 Is it universally true that ignorance is considered to be bliss? They say what you don't know can't hurt you, but I beg to differ; not knowing about a test I have due the next day might be painful. 

In Chapter 7 of Plato's Republic, Plato creates an allegory of prisoners trapped in a cave for their entire life, knowing and understanding only what they can see and hear. Behind them a fire burns, with people walking back and forth in front of it, casting shadows on the wall in front of the prisoners. This is the extent of their reality. 

I found this allegory to be extremely interesting considering the times we live in, with media censorship and what not. Consider this: maybe we are in the same position as the prisoners in Plato's allegory, and we don't realize this because it's our reality, it's what we've always had and always will have. Plato alludes to this himself in the beginning of Book 7 when Glaucon says "You describe a strange prison and strange prisoners". Plato replies, "Like ourselves". 

Consider the power the media holds over society today, controlling the information that comes in and goes out. Would you not say that this is frighteningly relevant to Plato's allegory of the cave? Regardless of how despondent this may seem, one must remember the second portion of the allegory, the prisoner who broke free. He made the ascent up a steep incline and saw the world for what it truly was, not the lies he had been fed all his life. He then goes and shares his newfound knowledge with his former inmates, ecstatic about his discoveries and the potential of this new life. 

Whether you believe we're society's prisoners, we can choose to go against the flow, to fight back against the unjust society, and to share the truth with everyone. It may be painful but it's worth it. 


PS - I commented on Kaitlyn and Logan's posts. 

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