Not necessarily. Obviously, we do not know what is unknown. But if we seriously believe that what we know may be only a part of the story or even altogether false - it is taking the unknown into consideration. Stated differently, being aware of the limits of on'e knowledge is manifested by constant readiness to question every certitude one knows, and having the cognitive ability to do that questioning. The latter differentiates wisdom from mere indecisiveness.
>
> In any event, there's certainly much to be said for stupidity as a stress
> preventative. Being stupid means never having to say you're sorry. There
> are millions of Americans who quite sincerely believe the US is a force
for
> good in the world because, bless 'em, they're incapable of perceiving
> evidence to the contrary. Being perceptive about the state of things is a
> form of torture -- it awakens you to all sorts of wrongdoings and gives
you
> an incessant nagging sense of complicity in them.
Certainly, stupidity is bliss. But I think denial is different from stupidity. The difference between the two is that of omission and commission (pardon that old Catholic casuistry). Stupidity usually results from the lack of exposure to challenge - people growing complacent in their beliefs because those beliefs have never been seriously challenged. Denial, otoh, is an active rejection of evidence that contradicts one's beliefs. In other words, stupidity is not having a chance to know critically examine one's knowledge, denial is having that chance and choosing one's beliefs over facts.
Imho, denial, which is an integral part of a conservative mindset, is a result of a mental or rather affective disorder manifested by emotional difficulty of dealing with change and ambiguity. A pathological fear of change and the unknown, if you will. These folks tend to grasp for straws and cling to any mental crutch they encounter to gain a sense of permanence and certitude. Religion, nationalism, authority, rigid conventional norms are the usual suspects. Any attempt to question these mental crutches is seen by these folks as a personal attack.
I do not think there is a hope for these people to stop denying the reality and abandon their cocoons of certitude, unless they are properly medicated to reduce the level of their anxiety and phobia of the unknown. I think that the best strategy that anything left of the center in this country can do to regain its power is to secure a free supply of Prozac to the US population. :)
On that happy note, I am out of here for the rest of this week it's off to Buenos Aires I go.
Wojtek