Ignorance is bliss...or is it?

Is ignorance really bliss or is it simply laziness? Or is it even something more? A while back at small group we had a discussion about the media and being aware of what is going on in the world outside of Amsterdam. One staff member said that they don't like to follow the news at all because they can't do anything about it and it only makes them feel bad. But I disagree. I think it is important to know what is going on in the world. Okay, so sometimes we can't do anything major in the grand scheme of things, but we encounter new people everyday and many people that we meet are coming from the very places we read about in the news. Isn't it our responsiblity to make every effort to understand where they are coming from as we try to love them and share with them? We have guests at the hostel from Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Uganda, Israel, Columbia, Indonesia, China, and a lot more places. If we can't be bothered to learn what is going on the world then what does that say about how we look at the people who come from those places. If we don't make the effort to know about peoples homes then aren't we basically we saying we can't make the effort to know about them? In addition to this, don't we as Christians have the responsibility to do something to help others. Okay, so maybe you can do that some things to help without really understanding a situation, but in most cases to make a real difference we have to understand the situation at hand. Education is key. And hopefully education leads to action. Perhaps if more people paid attention to what was going on outside their comfortable, sheltered world many of the horrible atrocities that have occurred in recent years could have been prevented or at least stopped earlier. In the past information wasn't as easily available, but in this age not knowing what is going on is a choice. The media is constantly shoving information up our noses. Ignorance is a deliberate choice. It is a choice that says I don't care.