I saw an interview recently with a retired politician who was being asked about current political issues, specifically the environment and what could be done about it at the government level. He answered (in an un-politician way) "I don't know". One of the panelists congratulated him for his humility, saying that we too rarely hear active politicians admit ignorance.
In this sense,"ignorance" (IE. Ignoring something) and "Humility" (IE. Openly acknowledging one's ignorance) are related.
I'm referring to a more sinister use of language in which people prefer ignoring a situation, and present this ignorance as humility.
It is said over and over again about mental illness that "I haven't had it, so I don't know", when in reality the person is saying "I don't want to know".
Presenting one's ignorance about mental illness as a sign of humility makes it much more acceptable, but truth is they are choosing to remain ignorant, which is anything but humble, it's lazy.
The truly humble person (like the former politician) is one who seeks to educate themselves on what they are ignorant about.
If I ignore what diabetes is all about, how it develops, who's at risk, what it's like to live with and so on. Even admit that ignorance publicly, that doesn't make me humble, it simply makes me ignorant.
The person who educates themselves about the disease is the one showing humility.
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