knowledge ain't all it's cracked up to be.

listening to a holocaust program at school today got me thinking about the idea of being naive, that ignorance is bliss. it's funny how we all pump ourselves full of knowledge and then pull the "no news is good news!" card when it's convenient, or it's what we want to hear. how much of the time we're telling ourselves something, when our gut is really saying the exact opposite. the thing is, is there really anything wrong with that? is it bad to play naive sometimes?

I also got to thinking about hatred. I was running a program with my friend, brina, for freshman about the idea of hatred and genocide (obviously two ideas that are inherently connected to the holocaust). we went around the table and asked each person to say what they hated and why and one girl said that she hated change. this seemed pretty weird to me -- to hate change? I questioned her on it (lightly probed, I'm not going to be accused of accosting a freshman) and she said that obviously change is a good thing but the process of creating change is the problem. now, I couldn't say it at the table, but I definitely disagree with that. I actually love the process of change. I think it's fascinating to watch how things change, how people respond to the changes -- the different reactions and everything, the hypocrisy that change brings along sometimes (that is, of course, seen in hindsight). change is one of those things that is NOT on my things-to-hate list.

another girl said that she hated jealousy. I kind of nodded but then asked her if she thought anything good could come out of jealousy, just to push her a little bit. she said no because jealousy comes with negative connotations. someone countered her by saying that jealousy can push someone to be better. it's funny just because I always thought jealousy was a bad thing -- the worst attribute a person can have, actually, until dan told me one day that he wished I were more jealous. well, I've been brought up my whole life to be NOT jealous, to accept things as they are, to be happy for people when they are successful because jealousy is not productive. here's the thing though: it can be productive and useful and very meaningful, actually. according to shakespeare (in othello, I think it was?) jealousy is also a byproduct of love. technically it's a byproduct of hatred, but according to shakespeare (othello -- or macbeth this time?) love and hatred are closely related because without love you cannot have hatred. the fact is, jealousy, hatred even, shows you care about someone, something. it shows you're passionate about something enough to care about it and wish it had affected you in the same way. that's a pretty powerful idea, you know?

I was going to say the double standard and people who hate feminists. being a senior and being that I was leading the discussion, I never got to present my views. we all know why I hate the double standard (it's obsolete, it's stupid, it's sexist, etc., etc.) and why I hate people who hate feminists (oh, especially women who hate feminism, they are the worst because they're just hypocritical. every woman living in the modern century is innately a feminist. most times they just don't realize it because they believe that feminists don't shave, wax or use any other forms of hair removal. untrue.)

other thoughts to come. I still have a good one from canada written down.