The Ignorance of Living

We can never proceed through life knowing everything there is to know. There's always a morsel of knowledge beyond our reach, in the corners of the world that we may very well never discover. Our ignorance sets us up for embarrassment and hurt. Is ignorance a virtue, or a vice? It could very well be a little bit of both. Could ignorance ever be a virtue? Not knowing about things of which we were never meant to learn... but is there ever anything that we, as humans, should never discover? Is there some secret hidden from us by the superior force that commands this earth, a secret of which we would be better off being ignorant? However, not knowing things that our instinct should tell us would be an even bigger catastrophe than learning about things that we shouldn't know about. Discovering unknown secrets can be one thing, but secrets can be hidden, and the pain and hurt they cause can remain unrevealed. However, ignorance towards something we should all know can never be redeemed. If a close companion is furious with something you have done, but believes that you should have prior knowledge as to what triggered their fury, not knowing could very well mean the end of that relationship. We've all heard the quote, "Ignorance is bliss." However, I have yet to see this statement be proved. But are we to live our whole life ignorant, believing that it will lead us to be happy? Is there any way to LIVE without being ignorant? Or are we doomed to spend life being ignorant, leading us to the most miserable times of our life. As stated by Martin Luther King Jr, "Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance..." This is proved over and over in the events which occur during our lifetime. How many times have friends been split due to one's ignorance of the other? How any times have feelings been hurt because of a person's ignorance towards emotions? How many times have lives been ruined due to ignorance? But just the same, how many lives might have been saved during war, had a spy been ignorant of enemy positions? "A man's ignorance is...useful," quoth Henry David Thoreau. It could be that sometimes ignorance has saved lives, and also embarrassment. It is more often than not, however, that ignorance leads to suffering. Had the Americans not been ignorant of the revoking of the law that allowed impressment, the War of 1812 might never have occurred. If the British had been aware of the Treaty of Ghent, the Battle of New Orleans would never have been fought. For, "real knowledge is knowing the extent of your ignorance." ~ Confucius. No matter is ignorance is beneficial or malignant, one thing is for certain. To live, is to be ignorant. To be considered a human being, one cannot possibly aspire to acquire all the knowledge in the world. So, is ignorance bliss, or not?