“When you are nine, you know that there are things that you don’t know, but you know that when you know something, you know it.”-Robert Penn Warren
I read this quote last night in Robert Penn Warren’s short story, “Blackberry Winter.” He did not say anything about the difference between this 9-year-old mindset and an older mindset. But I want to know what happens when you realize that you do not know things, and furthermore you realize that what you think you know may be incorrect.
For example, let’s examine this war we’re in. I’ve been reading and listening and, wonder of wonders, watching television that pertains to this most pertinent of subjects. I form opinions based on an individual’s take of the situation, and then, within minutes, hear another person’s point of view and feel like my opinions should change.
Yet everyone feels this way. Everyone has no clue about what is really occurring, and most of the people that I encounter seem to be of the opinion that it should stop until the people in charge know a little more, or divulge it to the information-hungry population.
This is just one example of conflicting interests. I feel the same way about so many things, and I have begun to believe that nobody is right about anything. Everyone seems so keyed up on his or her particular viewpoints that it makes me (and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one) not only feel very confused, but also extremely frustrated.
How do we figure out what to believe, especially if we are not satisfied with the status quo (i.e., believing what we are told because it “works” on a large scale)? At what point is it acceptable to say, “this is what I think about this subject, and I believe that I am right”-and is it ever acceptable to say this?
I know that common consensus is usually what we base our opinions on, and that philosophers have probably been debating this issue for hundreds of years. But what does that do for me now, when I want to know what to think, and when I feel like none of the stuff I hear is trustworthy?
This is a very circular series of questions. There really is no winning point, so there must be another way to search out a solution to this “problem” of sorts.
What about this: what if I allow the unknowable to be comforting? What if I decide that I should stop focusing on what I may or may not know, choose a philosophy or a viewpoint that I find comforting, and let that be the end of it all, including a small (undeniable) margin of error? This may seem so hippie-peaceful of me, but you know, I really do not care.
I am sick of belittling every opinion that I think I have because someone else tells me that I am wrong. I am sick of believing what I have always believed about everything because it worked for a few of the people that I know. Not only do I want to welcome a little of this confusion, I also do not want it to disappear. I want to always question the powers that be. I want to always measure things up to logic, the golden rule and to the simple truth that I will never know anything beyond the right here-and-now.
I guess it is funny that the writer of an opinion column should be saying that opinions are worthless, and maybe I’m wrong. I can accept that. However, I do feel comfortable accepting the fact that everything is interpreted differently by everyone, and everything is also subject to change over time. So, I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to focus on my lack of knowledge (even though I refuse to stop reading, etc). I want to be comfortable, for now, in the unknown, because there really seems to be no answer sometimes, and that’s just fine.
Joy Murphy is a senior English major.