The World Is Too Dangerous For Anything But Truth

I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance. - Socrates

fter Socrates completed his service in the war, he devoted himself to his love of pursuing truth, and he soon came to be regarded as one of the wisest man in Athens. In fact, the Oracle of Delphi revealed to one of his friends that he was in fact the wisest of all men. Rather than revel in this and boast, Socrates set out to try to prove the Oracle wrong. He thought that if he could find a man who knew what was most important in life, then that man would surely be wiser than himself. He questioned anyone who would speak to him about this, and discovered that they all pretended to know things he did not. After some time, Socrates thought that maybe the Oracle was actually correct in his assessment, because he alone seemed to posses the knowledge that he did not know the answers at all, and he alone was prepared to admit his ignorance. It's too bad that Socrates is not here to refresh our memories in these modern times, for this is not how our modern-day thinkers and leaders act and operate today. They are arrogant in their assumptions.

It just ain't the same, old ways have changed / New days are strange, is the world insane? / If love and peace are so strong / Why are there pieces of love that don't belong? / Nations droppin' bombs / Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones / With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young / So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone / So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong / In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in / Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends / Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother / A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover / The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug / If you never know truth then you never know love / Where's the love, y'all? / I don't know / Where's the truth y'all? / I don't know / Where's the love y'all? 

- Black Eyed Peas, Where Is The Love?

How can we be so sure of ourselves, and yet have the track record that we do? Do we not know that we only possess five sense, and that this tool kit with which we are able to perceive the world around us has severe limitations? We can only see a portion of the light spectrum, hear a portion of sound frequencies, feel that which our nervous system is equipped to feel, and yet we persist in our arrogance. How can we walk so tall when there is so much beyond our understanding? We create instruments and technologies to perceive that which we cannot through our senses, and all we learn from is just how many more questions are unanswered. So then, with this knowledge of our inherent limitations, should we not take Socrates' advice and acknowledge our lack of understanding about the universe? We should be gentle with ourselves and each other; it's ok to not know, and through that collective understanding we can grow and connect, everyone in every country and from every race.

Galileo Before The Holy Office

Think of the countless examples of scientific theories that have been proven wrong over the ages. The flat Earth, a geocentric universe, the static universe theory, all proven wrong by new, updated and revamped ideas. And yet, at the time of these theories, there was no doubt in the minds of the thinkers of the day that they were right. Even with the vast amount of scientific truths that we are still so far from uncovering, we insist that we know.

What about social policies that we later rejected because they were outdated and either no longer served us or were deemed unethical? Woman banned from voting, slavery, denying gay people the right to marry,  alcohol prohibition and civil inequality just to name a few, all ideas who's times had to eventually come to an end. And yet still, the proponents of these ideas defended, sometimes to the death, their validity. Silly talking monkeys. Can it not then be determined that so many social injustices must also too one day come to an end? The failed war on drugs, disastrous environmental laws,  the demonization of Islam, marijuana prohibition and laws allowing corporations to supersede governmental authority must all, by extension, come to an end one day too. Even the very concept of country and nationalism must also one day no longer serve a purpose for us in and therefore be eliminated. This is in fact the definition of progress. Yet we resist, because we are right, or so we think because our limited perception and reasoning tells us so. The list of cognitive biases, that is, errors in thinking and logic which steer one away from the truth of a matter, is extensive. With so many possible wrong turns in our logic, how can we know the truth?

Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis foolish to be wise. - An often altered modern idiom

If even our very thinking prevents the truth from being revealed, how then are we so sure of things? Is it not possible that there are countless things going on of which we have not the slightest idea? Could it be that we are a larger collective consciousness, that our individualistic sense of things might be flawed? Perceptive people know on an intuitive level that there is so much more going on out there, connecting us and uniting us in ways unknown. We've all felt someone's eyes on us from across a room without even seeing them - we know on an intuitive level that somehow, on some level, we are all just one consciousness. Yet people and the powers that be insist on not only ignoring this, but suppressing this, suppressing our spirituality and our intuitive selves, manipulating the truth and bowing to the elite. When I get down about the world need a lift, I watch this (and here's the complete exchange) and my faith is restored, at least temporarily. It might help you too.

When are we going to wake up and realize that the system in place cannot begin to solve the problems we face? In all the myriad changes in our social structure over the centuries, we consistently move from intolerance toward tolerance somehow, albeit at a snail's pace. We simply do not have the luxury of time anymore, we need to move quickly, and the polarized, divisive quarreling we constantly engage in is getting us nowhere. 

Instead of fighting and bickering, debating whether or not we should build a wall between us and our neighbours or any other of our ludicrous ideas, should we not practice love and tolerance, patience and understanding, peace and harmony? Should we not be gentle on our fellow human beings and accept their faults and embrace their diversity? There are those that would argue that if you don't attempt to fix the system from within, then you are somehow misguided. To them I say, open your eyes. Open your eyes to the fact that billions live in poverty, war is constant, and the elite work to only serve themselves. These are not our best results; we can and will do so much better - we need to. I may argue this as if I know that I am right, but I humbly accept that I know as much or as little as anyone else. If you choose love over fear every time, we will prevail. It's just a choice. 

The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love. - William Sloane Coffin