Ignorance.

Last term I presented a speech in my first public speaking competition, the VCAA Plain English Speaking Award. I was aprehensive at first to do it even though I have been doing debating and many speeches in assembly and the like for years.

I found the hardest part was to find a topic that was unique and relatively untouched in the media. It seemed too easy to choose an issue like obesity, teenage binge drinking, censorship and anything you’d see on current affair or today tonight. I chose to cover the world food crisis after briefly touching on it my international studies class. It was something I knew little about but now after writing a speech on it I can’t help but search for more knowledge. In my opinion it is the international issue of our time, a global phenomenon created by our own greed and choice.

It’s an issue that is both emotional and practical. I still struggle to answer to the core question, what is more important the lives of thousands or the abilty to have cheaper fuel and thus commodities? Where do you draw the line, ethanol, food or a bit of both? I am an extremely moral person and I can’t bypass the sanctity of life, it’s a gift and the very thought that getting in the family car is potentially killing people is unnerving. However where should we employ ignorance? At what stage should we be blissfully ignorant that our thirst for fuel is fuelling a famine of large proportions?

I think society desensitises itself too much from these issues. It amazes me how often we have conversations in everyday life where a topic goes from, “How bad is the situation in Zimbabwe?” to something more trivial which has a stronger, more emotional response, “How much of a skank is Paris Hilton?”. I think the main cause of this response is confrontation. The reality of a situation is so raw and imperfect that our bubbles filled with meaningless junk about celebrities and our plans for the weekend give us the environment to stop analysing the issue. The confrontation of an issue can be so overbearing that we just block it out when esentially it is core to our life. Since when did celebrities’ luxurious lifestyles become more important than the welfare of people in our community and our environment.

Understand though, I’m not condoning the distractions in life but rather questioning whether ignorance has become our immediate response to the harsh realities of the world.

I realise to some this post will sound like I’m rambling but essentially I want you to think about how often you block out harsh truths and search for other trivial things to occupy your headspace. Also think about where should we draw the line with ignorance? Is Western society too ignorant?

I think this is an issue that needs reflection, especially by Gen-Y in Australia because we have the means to create change but sometimes we dont acknowledge and use the privileges we have available to us…