Ignorance, Error and Knowledge

This column will be printed in Thursday's, 4/17/09, Crimson White. I attempted to address the problems with the theory that laws should be based on popular morality as well as respond to a recent rash of people refusing to get the facts I've been noticing lately. I don't care whether or not you agree with me about something, so long as you've got all the necessary facts to make an informed decision. It's something we need to think about.

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As Chris Holmes' column in Wednesday's edition of The Crimson White states, laws are codified morals in his opinion. Why? Because laws are made to unify what society thinks is right and wrong. As popular opinion today seems to go, America was founded on Christianity, morals are okay to legislate and are the founding source of laws and we should vote for laws based on our religious beliefs.

I'm sorry, but that makes no sense and is, quite frankly, ignorant, which has been going about like a dangerous disease.

America was not founded on Christianity. It was founded on freedom. Desire for equality (amongst certain people) and class elimination. A desire for land. But the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were not Christian in ideal. If you've taken an American Government class, you've heard the names Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu. Keeping people in check, keeping people equal through social contract and mutual agreement, giving everyone a few very basic rights. These are the philosophies that founded our law. Christianity has similarities, but never when I read the Bible did I notice "Thou shalt not run a red." Facetious, maybe, but it illustrates the point. And the Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, most certainly helps solidify the point that we are not a Christian nation. Shocker there.

America has no place passing laws based on popular thought. Banning slavery was not popular with the majority. Letting women vote was not popular with the majority. Allowing interracial marriage was not popular with the majority, especially in certain states. Popular morality is not what matters and affects these things. The philosophies that create our government as laid out in the U.S. Constitution are what affects those decisions. It just usually takes a large, unpopular outcry that gains speed for the issue to be brought up. Breaking a law isn't bad because the law is about some moral issue, it's because breaking the law is, by most moral sentiments, inherently immoral unless following the law is immoral.

These are things that we can learn with just a little bit of study. A little research into the cultures of the times, a glance at the court cases and opinions in "Loving v. Virginia" or "Brown v. Kansas Board of Education" or "Tinker v. Des Moines" would show that the Constitution, not popular morals, made those decisions.

But some people are content thinking what they think. Knowing the "facts" they know, as spoonfed to them by other people. All the time, I hear people spouting off arguments about something as simple as what movie to go watch and saying, "Well I heard [insert blatant non-fact here]."

This is a travesty. We have people thinking evolution says we evolved from monkeys and that evolution and religion can't mix, people thinking that their religion says something it doesn't and people just being... ignorant. Truly ignorant about what is correct and what is false.

We need to stop this epidemic of nonchalance toward education. It's sad there even is one considering we're at a university. Even on the simple things, people don't want to research. Want to know what a movie's about? Read a review. Want to find a new place to eat? Look in a phonebook. Want to know what happened to Brother Micah? Ask someone in charge of UA grounds.

People, we need to challenge ourselves in our educations, so we don't make mistakes like thinking the Bill of Rights is copy-pasted from the Bible. We need to stop being content with what we think we know and spread our blanket of knowledge around to cover the whole bed.

I recently watched "Dead Poets Society." An excellent film, one everyone should watch and pay close attention to what it's asking. It asks its viewers, "Is knowledge dangerous? Is tradition the safest path?" Perhaps it is the safest path. Then again, so is living in a bubble. This world will not walk around your life to keep you safe. There is no guarantee your beliefs and ideas won't be challenged. So challenge them yourself first. Either you'll find out you were wrong and fix it, or you'll be ready for any argument that comes your way. And don't be content to just take the classes that are required of you, especially if you're curious about other things. Satisfy that curiosity. Yeah, your GPA may be injured, but your life will be enriched.

Speak up when you have something to say. Look up when you have something to see. Learn the things you don't know. Complain when you seek change. Question when something seems off. Seize the knowledge, the human experience. To better your life, this University's output and the world's expectations.