ig·no·rant (ˈig-n(ə-)rənt): adjective
1 a : destitute of knowledge or education ; also : lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified b : resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence
2 : unaware, uninformed
fool (ˈfül): noun
1 : a person lacking in judgment or prudence
Stop believing everything you hear…
from your best friend
from your enemy
from your teacher
from the gossip columns
from the your favorite news anchor
from past, present, or future presidents, royalty or leaders of any sort
from the radio
from your pastor (yep, he’s a man, too, believe it or not)
from anyone
they may be lying to ‘make you feel better’
they may be intentionally misleading
they may be trying to sound smart
they may be spiteful
chances are none of these will keep them from talking.
Stop believing everything you read….
on Wikipedia, or any other website, including this one
on the bathroom stall
in a book, no matter how much money went into printing it, no matter the title or popularity of the author
in your church bulletin
on a school handout
in any magazine
in emails, forwarded or not
on bulletin boards or advertisements of any sort
don’t be lazy, check your facts
Stop believing everything you see on TV.
Writers usually have an agenda
Directors usually have an agenda
Actors often have an agenda
Politicians have an agenda
Advertisers have an agenda
Reality TV is not real
The news does not tell you everything, every side, or every story, and may even mislead you on purpose.
The crap you consume affects you, even when you don’t notice.
Check your history books
Judgement is not a dirty word.
Propaganda is used every day, and is successful when you don’t recognize it.
Terrorists and terrorist acts are not unique to the last few decades.
Rome fell for a reason (or a lot of them).
When government and religion mix, the result is often ugly.
There are at least two sides to every story, but history often records only one.
Chances are pretty good the world will never revolve around you.
The writers of the Constitution didn’t add the Bill of Rights on a whim.
Intolerance is not a dirty word, everyone has a limit to what they can or will tolerate.
Research is not just something to do when it’s required
research stories before you believe them
research alarms before you sound them
research sermons before you preach them
research lessons before you teach them
research gossip before you believe it (and please stop spreading it)
research a theory before you accept it
research an interpretation before you internalize it
research a belief before you accept or share it
Please stop being an ignorant fool. The smarter you are, the more degrees you have, the more times people call you a “professional”, “expert”, “great” or “esteemed” the more likely you are to get cocky and lazy. No matter how many letters are behind your name, how high your IQ, how many arguments you win, or how many people like you, if you’ve chosen to spread nonsense without checking your facts you look like an idiot. It’s not attractive. There’s no excuse for it. Please stop, and I’ll try to stop too.
