I used to think that information was like art. That two people staring at the same painting
could come away with two vastly different conclusions. However, I’ve come to realize that
information is much more than a single painting. It’s an entire gallery. We, as people, choose which paintings we wish
to view, and as such, we may not make it through the entire gallery. We may stay mesmerized on the first painting
that attracts us.
This analogy paints the picture of the current state of
information acquisition in the United States, and in many other countries as
well. It’s laborious to walk for hours
through the gallery and to offer each piece of art the same amount of respect
and attention as the prior…but it’s absolutely necessary. Considering the extent to which information
is already limited via a small network of major news organizations, it is
pivotal that all citizens digest as much information as they can from
each. One of the major threats to change
in this world is the human desire to listen to those whom we agree with. F. Scott Fitzgerald once eloquently stated, “At eighteen our convictions
are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.” The only true wisdom in this world is
realizing that we know nothing. Those
who purport that their age and life experiences have led them to a level of
world understanding that allows them to state opinion as fact are
dangerous. Because for every man that
states his/her opinion as fact, there lies another man on the other side of the
fence who states the corollary as fact.
There is no truth. There is only
wisdom in admitting to knowing nothing.
