The Arrogance of Ignorance, Why the excuse of not knowing no longer works

I remember a movie years ago, a Clint Eastwood western I think, in which a Franciscan Monk was telling a troubled young man, “ignorance is not a sin my son” attempting to comfort him for some egregious mistake he made and subsequently was now in trouble over. I’ve carried that mantra around with me ever since and occasionally pull it out when I need to console myself for some bonehead mistake I’ve made. But was the friar right? Is ignorance guiltless? In my case it almost always wasn’t (I usually knew what I should or shouldn’t have done), and I’m starting to think, for humanity’s sake, we can no longer afford to give willful ignorance a pass.

Ignorance defined means a “lack of knowledge or information.” That’s innocent enough, there are plenty of things we don’t know and you are not at fault if you don’t know something. But what if you don’t care to know, don’t try to know and even avoided knowing all together? Again, it’s probably no problem provided it only involves and effects you, your'e certainly free to be as dumb as you like. After all, where do you think the term “blissfully ignorant” came from? We routinely engage in shutting off and not wanting to know about unpleasant things or possible problems. Furthermore, we get evolutionary help with this from our brain which acts as a big filter, only taking in necessary information and tailoring it in such a way that we can make sense of it and efficiently use it without seizing up. It goes without saying that if we could take in all information available to us, we might very well experience a psychotic episode. 

But, what if this “not knowing” hurts or impedes someone else, and you do know that? Now could you be cited for your indifference. I say yes, and that’s precisely what’s been happening. The problem with this besides being quite unnatural as our brain wants to make connections with others, is that humanity won’t move forward until we actively address this and do something about it. What’s going on? Why do so many people we meet, work with, and depend on seem to be hunkering down, and stubbornly, (and stupidly) digging in their heels? 

There’s something else going on today besides childish willful ignorance, something that’s causing people to take sides, choose corners and fearfully, and unapologetically retreat to a place where they can defend off all attackers and wait out the zombie apocalypse. I call this phenomenon “the Arrogance of Ignorance” and it’s a defiant protectionist posture and a taught behavior. It’s a type of cynicism which fosters a distrust in reality and is pervasive, it's everywhere. The reasons why good people are turning a blind eye, pretending not to notice and care, and behaving cynically in this age of readily accessible information and relatively positive world changes is complicated. But I’m convinced it’s not voluntary, they don’t want to do it and are being sold a bill of goods. Let’s look at some of the likely reasons and then discuss how we can fix these ills before they start to do real damage.

Disconnected and depressed

In the book Lost Connections Johann Hari discusses depression and the most common reasons why so many in our society walk around in a low-grade depression which never seems to cease. The reasons he claims are largely due to difficult life circumstances which cause and encourage us to disconnect. To cope, many adopt a willful ignorance toward themselves and others. Some of the disconnects Hari notes as causing this depression include a disconnect from meaningful work (loss of control, authority, and a sense of powerlessness), and a disconnect from others (loneliness). So, we know that disconnections can cause depression and in turn isolation, aloofness, and a disinterest and indifference toward life. But we also need to realize there is a silent war raging around us every day and it’s been going on for some time. It’s a war for your attention and without sounding melodramatic, your very thoughts and consciousness. I’m willing to bet you’re not even aware of this, hence, most of us end up either casualties in this war, prisoners to it, or are hunkered down not sure what to do or where to go next. Here’s an example of proof from Hari’s book.

Manipulated and played

A recent London ad campaign depicting a beautiful tan woman in a bathing suit with a slogan asking, “are you beach body ready?” came against so much public criticism across Europe that protesters responded with their own slogan, spray painting over the billboards slogan with their own stating “advertising shits in your head”. The public outcry was tied to a disconnect from meaningful values. Though our lives can be motivated by two types of values (extrinsic and intrinsic) advertising pushes us toward extrinsic values and discourages intrinsic. Extrinsic values have shown to make us more depressed and isolated (once the feeling of the new thing you’ve purchased wears off) and in the long run proves to be less rewarding. Intrinsic goals on the other hand, which include helping others and developing yourself into a better person, are lifetime lasting and build deep connections and meaning. Here’s the ironic thing regarding these protests and this ad campaign. In the United States it's unlikely there would have been any public outcry or even notice of manipulation or threatened values, and certainly not at the magnitude encountered in Europe. Americans simply would have absorbed the billboards message, internalized it, and either accepted the idea that they were “not” beach body ready and felt bad about themselves or worked silently and desperately to change their appearance.

 Divided and conquered?

Something significant happened on a national scale a few years ago and again it's likely many missed it, but they didn’t miss the effect it has had on them. For the first time in decades a political candidate has run on a platform which referenced (and suggested) moving into the past instead of the future, professing “Make America Great Again.” While this refers to a specific Presidency this is not a political article, it’s more a psychological one. First off to simultaneously reference the past (as great) and by suggesting we are no longer “great” and need to revisit that time is both subtle and brilliant marketing. Our mind softens the past, smooths out the rough edges, and mutes the negative experiences of life in favor of positive memories, thus we naturally hold fond memories of the past (the good old days). Next, danger is like crack cocaine for the primordial part of our brain, the amygdala, which looks for and expects danger at every turn. Priming the amygdala with negative or emotionally charged words puts our brains on high alert suggesting there are nefarious forces at work, at this point the cave man brain takes over. If you are focusing energy on the immediate, the now, and it’s an emergency, you don’t have any energy left to think of the future, tomorrow. All available energy is conserved and diverted to the present, the wagons have become circled. Incidentally our current administration didn’t come up with the slogan Make America Great Again, they borrowed, and copywrote it from Ronald Regan in the 1980’s, another great marketing move.

What does mental manipulation, using divisive (dividing) language, weaponizing words and priming do to us? For one thing as just stated it can rob us of a future. Secondly, we no longer give each other second chances, or even second glances. We judge unfairly, become impatient, and forgo reflection in the name of time, we no longer give each other “do-overs” like when we were kids. Like the story of the frog in the pot of boiling water we are slowly taught to be unempathetic and uncaring, these are the effects of the arrogance of ignorance. Once we are trained down this protective impulse path of stimulus/response, and repeat this behavior becomes second nature and we now have less of a problem being Machiavellian to one another and playing a zero-sum game with co-workers, collaborators, and strangers. My success now depends (in large part) on your failure and everyone is potentially my enemy, there become few safe places.

If it’s not our leaders professing the sky is falling (on us) then it’s some home security company suggesting there are burglars and thieves looming outside our door, or a software company telling us our identities are being stolen, or the media looking for whatever elicits an emotional response in us and then searching for more of it to show us on the evening news to divert and keep our focus , and ratings high. It reminds me of the 2005 Eagles song “Dirty Laundry.” It’s time for us to stop being manipulated, take our brains out of neutral and into drive, and reconnect with people. Consider that those who would divide us have a reason for doing so, what is it? If anyone is whispering in your ear that you need to be careful, selfish, watch your neighbor, limit communication, hoard your resources and knowledge and only listen to them I hope it sends up flags, and I would hope you ask questions. 

Moving into a new age

Retired Marine Corp General and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis recently said in an article that “Cynicism is not only the enemy of consensus building , it’s also cowardice”, “cynicism”, he says, “fosters a distrust of reality, it provokes suspicion that hidden forces are at play and instills a sense of victimhood and though it may be physically gratifying, solves nothing”, he’s right! In order to shake off this cynicism we need to think, reflect, and be in the service of others. Being helpful, is perhaps the greatest and most rewarding feeling a human being can have. Our responsibility is and should be to one another first, we should start, and end, every day being helpful. How else do we move forward? We need to become aware of our motivations and influences and question where they come from, are they coming from us? Next, be aware of where we are spending our resources (time, energy and money) and, where our time and money are being influenced to be spent, do the two agree?

The age of wisdom

We have gone from an agrarian age, to a science age, to an industrial age, to a technological age, and are currently in an information and knowledge age, what’s next? Welcome to the age of wisdom. If we consider the act of “knowing” we can visualize an ascending line from left to right consisting of “data”, “information”, “knowledge”, and finally “wisdom”. We are awash with data points and when put together they make information. String this information together and we manifest usable knowledge we can use to manipulate and influence things in useful ways. Here’s an example. I see a key on my kitchen counter (a data point) and I identify it as an automobile key (another data point) of a specific make (data point). The key is sitting on a piece of paper which has writing on it (more data points) and I recognize the words as grocery store items and the paper as a list, and looking out the window I see the automobile, (data point, data point, data point). I can now sort these information strings (made of data points) together into usable knowledge that someone, maybe me, will be going to the grocery store. But where does wisdom come in? As I reflect on this knowledge I compiled by collecting details, I now move my focus in the opposite direction widening my thoughts out more broadly, opening the aperture, and reflecting on the best ways to execute this data, information, and knowledge. If I retrieve groceries from the store, I’ve successfully accomplished my task, but what if I could accomplish more in this act? What if my endeavor not only supported myself in that present experience but also myself in the future (I could get groceries for tomorrow as well), my family, neighbors, community, etc., you get the idea. I scale out my thinking after first zooming in. When I’ve done these thought calculations, I pick up my key and go, that’s an example of practicing wisdom. The brain is a muscle like any other, the more you exercise it the stronger it will become. What will come after the age of wisdom, who knows, how about a new age of enlightenment?   

We’ve discussed a lot today in defining the arrogance of ignorance, the defensive, intolerant, cynical, and selfish mindset that is threatening to become the epidemic of our time. Before this causes further damage and greater divide however there’s something I hope you will know. If you take away anything from our discussion today, I hope it’s that you realize this way of thinking you're being encouraged to practice is a manipulative sham, it’s not what it purports to be. It’s not flattering to you or your family (your legacy) and it's neither serving nor supporting the betterment of humanity and after all isn’t that the reason why we're even here on this planet in the first place?! What you're feeling and going through now is not the end, it’s not a standoff, there is no “smash-and-grab” looter scenario playing out here in which the world's few remaining resources are being divvied up and distributed to the most cunning and powerful among us, don’t drink this Kool-Aid, give yourself away every day. There is a tomorrow around the corner and it’s a bright one but to get there we must first make the turbulent transition, change is always a little sporty, so enjoy the fast ride. This is not the end but the beginning, not a death but a birth. Come out of your cave and coax others out, turn off the TV and turn on to your neighbors, break ties with your doomsday prepper friends for now and stop watching The Walking Dead for a season, don’t get discouraged, and don’t be disheartened. In this increasingly complex, diverse, more connected world there are certainly many challenges. Chief among them building courage, maintaining awareness, suspending judgement, thinking wisely, and supporting inclusion, tolerance, and dialogue. Now more than ever, we need everyone on the bus and we need to be driving toward the sunlight!

Dr. Zabiegalski is available to talk to your organization or venue about this ground-breaking research or speak informatively and eloquently about organizational culture, leadership, strategy, learning, complexity, neuroscience in business, creativity, mindfulness, talent management, personal success, emotional intelligence, and Action Learning. Contact Eric about a talk Today.