Blissful Ignorance?

Last week I went and saw a Sundance film called "Circumstance."

This film won the Sundance award for best drama at this year's film festival. As I fully expected, I received a call from my movie buff friend Sean inviting Seth and I to attend. Sundance is hit and miss for me but if it is a "best of fest" film then I know it's worth the cold trek downtown.

"Circumstance" was a beautiful film about two Iranian teenagers trying to live within a very stifled life in Tehran. I won't go into a lot of detail but as beautiful as the film was it was equally sad and very difficult to watch. The film painted a very dark picture of life in Iran and how difficult it can be for women in particular. There were scenes of abuse, mistreatment, rape and incidents with a "corrupt" government.

Following the movie I wasn't sure what to think of it. I knew I enjoyed it, I knew I was glad that I saw it, but at the same time I felt a deep sadness. I have a stunning coworker that is from Iran. She has lived in the states for just over 10 years now. She actually looks much like the girl on the right in the picture above. She and I have had several conversations of her life there. We have laughed at how little Americans know of her homeland. She has told me stories of college classmates asking her where she is from and promptly responding "Where is Iran?" upon her answer. Where is Iran? Seriously? That country nearly as big as Saudi Arabia in the Middle Ease people! Here's a map for those of you who may not know exactly where it is. Ha -

People have asked her how she communicates with her family and friends there. They are shocked they have cell phones and ... gasp...cars! How little we know of the Middle East. It's unfortunate that we have a very narrow view of the region. I think many of us have visions of terrorists, camels, desert landscapes and poverty. We forget that there are bustling cities, text messaging, Facebook (although in Iran it is banned so they have had to find a way around the government to have access), movies, music and Twitter. We tend to forget that the people aren't so different from us. Teenagers rebel, people fall in and out of love, people attend church, people sing and dance and even have snowball fights (yes they even have ski resorts in Iran).

One of the things that I appreciated about this movie was that it seemed to give me a bit more perspective about a country and a region that I find myself judging far too often. Seth and I talked for nearly an hour after the movie. We talked about democracy, freedom, history and of the many issues that plague the Middle East. It was hard to watch, it was painful at times. I am sure there are a lot of people that would never want to see a movie that dealt with rape, homosexuality, drugs and misogyny. However I am not one of those people. The understanding and empathy that I felt for Iranians following that movie far surpassed the uncomfortable feelings I felt while watching it.

I haven't been able to shake the thought I have had about this movie for a week now. It got me to thinking...and I couldn't help but wonder:

Does ignorance truly equal bliss?

I have come to the conclusion that in many cases, sure, ignorance is bliss. I mean really. If I had no idea that Iran mistreated their women, or had "morality police" or forced their young students to say "Death to Israel, death to America" each morning, maybe my life would be better.

If we had no concept of AIDS and how it is ruining countless lives of people in Africa wouldn't we sleep better at night?

We can do our best to shelter our lives and the lives of our children so that they and we are ignorant of what is happening in the world around them. Hopefully that will keep us happy right? Or we can choose to expose ourselves to the horrors that exist. Why? For one thing, a little perspective.

Today I was livid. I was livid because Seth and I were cheated out of $2,000 that we were promised. But when I take a step back and look at this beautiful home I am sitting in, while typing on this lovely laptop, with a loving husband asleep in the next room, I realize how lucky I am. I have the freedom of speech so I can write what I want on my blog. I married a man for love not for the advancement of my family. I can work and make have a living as a successful woman in this country. "Circumstance" made me realize how lucky I am to live in America. It made me grateful for my freedom. Truthfully I am not grateful enough. I am not a person that will easily admit "America is the best country in the world." I still don't know if I think it is the best but I do know it is a damn amazing place and I am fortunate to live here. So thanks "Circumstance" for reminding me of that. I am told that I need to be grateful to live here nearly daily but sometimes it takes seeing a painful movie to really feel it.

Why else avoid ignorance? To change what needs to be changed.

It wasn't too long ago when beating your children was considered a private/family matter. It was something that went on in homes and no one was willing to admit it or say anything. We chose to be ignorant. In fact, we had established laws that protected animals in our country before we had laws that protected children. If we all remained ignorant of what is happening around us we could never work together to change those terrible things. It makes us donate to charity that fights AIDS, it makes us pick up the phone to report a neighbor we suspect is abusing their children, it helps us liberate countries.

Ignorance does not breed understanding either. How can you understand that a homosexual couple can raise a healthy child if you don't know anyone that is gay? How can you make a statement about a public policy issue if you refuse to hear what the opposite side of your political party is saying? How can you teach your children not to be racist if you have no friends with an opposite skin color? I think being more open minded is healthy for our society. I know I am guilty of this, we all are to some degree. But I do try to keep an open mind.

Another reason I choose to avoid ignorance: gratitude. I can list a whole slew of movies that I never want to see again, but ones that I am so glad I did see. You know the ones, "Saving Private Ryan" - thank you for showing me the horrors of WWII and helping me feel complete gratitude for our veterans. Thank you "Schindlers List" for reminding me how horrifying the Holocaust was so that we can ensure it doesn't happen again. Thank you for reminding me how substantial one person is and how my life can really impact many other lives for good.

So there you have it. I choose to be informed so that I can avoid being ignorant. I choose to see the movies with difficult scenes and read news stories with painful messages, because it brings me more understanding, hope, a desire to change and gratitude.

However I will say that there are some things I am happy to be ignorant about: Ke$ha, NASCAR, Howard Stern and the "Saw" movies. I suppose there are many times where blissful ignorance sounds just fine to me.