Fireside Chat: There's No Excuse for Ignorance

I hear it all the time about how cell phones, social media, and the information age is a disease killing youth. My response has always been the same: DAMN I HATE A STRAWMAN! Never before in the history of mankind has it been easier to learn a language, watch a movie, look up on what your second cousin twice-removed is doing half way across the world. It’s amazing how many people run their own businesses, go to college, or manage fundraisers wherever they are, at the touch of a button. To be honest, I enjoy it quite a lot. Without, I wouldn’t have ever been able to get my books out and afford my fountain pens. Despite some of the shortfalls which come from a connected world, society has benefited greatly from all of the world’s information being held inside of one’s pocket. However, the introduction of information being readily available has called for the death of something else: ignorance.

            I had a conversation the other day, all thanks to social media, about the nauseating Mueller Report and the current Trump Impeachment investigation. Normally I don’t respond to these things, but this guy is someone I usually make an exception about. Even if we get nowhere, I end up at least getting some substance about whatever we are talking about. This time, however, I managed to walk blindly into a dumpster fire! It started with someone posting that Trump is not getting impeached, which caused me to comment that I believe the DNC is so stupid for doing this, considering how well the Mueller probe went for them, and that I believe it will end the same way that all of the other investigations went: with the Blowfish Mentality, nothing but air. Now, I do admit that I believe that this was my first mistake, seeing as the guy who put up the original post did it to be a troll. However, it was then asked why I thought Trump wouldn’t be impeached. This led down a rabbit hole where the other guy argued substance about everything other than the ACTUAL report. References to Nixon to convictions of 34 others in the Trump Campaign to mentioning Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Letter 66, but nothing was mentioned from the ACTUAL report. My reply was thus:

Vol. 1 p.2 speaks about the fact that collusion isn't a specific charge in US code, and states that the investigation is more on a conspiracy. Vol. 1 p.175 states that no one in the Trump campaign participated with the Russian "Active Measures" social media campaigns. Vol. 2 p. 74 outlines the fact that firing Comey was not an obstructive act, since the investigation would have continued without him anyway. p. 75 clarifies why Comey was fired, stating that Comey told the president three separate times he was not under investigation, which would piss me off, so i don't blame him. p. 112 states that Jeff Sessions was not directed to end the investigation, he just wanted to be treated fairly and wanted the same intensity placed on Hillary Clinton's email scandals. p. 157 CLEARLY and DIFINATIVELY states that "the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference". What follows are Mueller's "implications", Mueller's "hints", nothing that states "Yes, President Donald Trump stole the election under the help of Putin”.

I then replied afterwards:

            Would you like the transcript too? I have that as well.

I won’t lie, that last one was kind of petty.

            My point is this: The Mueller Report is available to the public. The minute it was, I bought a copy, but you can read it online here. Before I made an opinion about it, guess what? I read the damn thing! When Mueller spoke before Congress, guess what? I watched the damn thing! When the Ukraine phone call became declassified, you get the picture. As a bonus, you can read that here. The point is that no one has an excuse for not being in the know anymore, and to be honest, I have no patience for ignorant people anymore. It is so rich to hear nothing but talking points from “experts” spewing from the mouths of every polarized idiot who listens. Whether its Right-leaning or Left-leaning, I hate to hear the bile of others come out of the mouths of those who couldn’t be bothered to do their own homework. If someone is ignorant today, then they are willingly ignorant.

            I’m not going to hold my tongue with the uninformed anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I used to chock it up to them not having enough time to do their research. I used to be the polite conservative, nod my head, accept the metaphorical slaps and respond in a professional tone. Indeed, I would innocently accept that this person was just another one of those who were totally okay with not being in the know. The rise of the internet brought the fall of my previous belief in the way that people argue in terms of substance. This willfulness to accept what is said to you about something instead of looking at it for yourself angers me, not only with the Left, but also the Right. The truth of the matter is that no one can be uninformed today unless they choose to be. Much like how a horse can be brought to the water but cannot be made to drink, someone can have Google on their phone but cannot be made to look up a document. It goes to show that it’s not that we don’t have enough time, but rather that we waste much of it. Instead of playing with filters on Instagram, maybe you should educate yourself before making an opinion on a subject that you know nothing about.