Review of The Issue of Ignorance in Society

Throughout I’m Not Racist But…, Don’t You Think It’s Time We Start Thinking?, and Hidden Lessons, authors Neil Bissoondath, Northrop Frye, and David Suzuki discuss racism, critical thinking, and our impact on children’s view of nature, respectively.

While these may seem like differing topics, they stem from society’s ignorance. A common connection and point the authors make is that humans have the tendency to be unaware of the power their words and actions have, and the meanings they may hold to others. In I’m Not Racist But…, Bissoondath discusses society’s impulse to be offended by words that were not intentionally used in a harmful way, and how individuals fail to understand others before calling them out for their actions. He speaks about the power that is given to a word and how quick people are to label someone as “racist” when they may not be aware of the offensiveness of their statements. He says “True racism is based, more often than not, on willful ignorance, and an acceptance of-and comfort with-stereotype.” (Bissoondath, par. 7), and “...let us beware of abusing the word itself.” (Bissoondath, par. 19), stating people are over-using the term “racist” and using it as an excuse to avoid trying to understand them further and remain ignorant.In Don’t You Think It’s Time We Start Thinking?, Frye discusses how children are being failed by the education system since they are not taught to critically think about their surroundings. This connects to the idea Bissoondath brought to light in his article.

Bissoondath believes humans are not understanding each other and are taking words at face value without trying to understand where the other person is coming from, and Frye believes the education system is at fault for this because children are not taught to think critically. Bissoondath tells the reader individuals give too much power to words they hear and how they affect them personally, and Frye tells the reader they have not given enough power to how they use words. It is this ignorance that creates a divided society.In Hidden Lessons, Suzuki talks about how humans disconnect themselves from animals, teaching children to do the same, and how it is innate to have an interest in nature but children are trained to view other species as lesser beings. He states “Those of us who are parents have to realize the unspoken, negative lessons we are conveying to our children.

Otherwise, they will continue to desecrate this planet as we have.” (Suzuki, par. 10), saying the actions parents take against nature causes children to poorly take care of the ecological community around them, even if the parents do not notice their actions influencing children. While Frye and Bissoondath discuss the amount of power given to words, Suzuki discusses parents’ obliviousness of the power their actions have and how they impact younger generations.

Ignorance of the power individuals can possess by simply saying or doing something that is misunderstood is the source of many problems, including those described by Bissoondath, Frye, and Suzuki. Through their essays, they reveal how people can affect others without having the intent to do so. Unable to analyze each other’s motives, jumping to conclusions, and failing to realize the influence on children, society will only suffer negative effects which can be prevented simply by making an effort to understand one another.