The famous Greek philosopher, Socrates, once said, "There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." Socrates was a remarkable thinker of his time, and he strived to understand the mysteries of the world he lived in. In his quote, he basically stated knowledge saves the world from the rood of all evil-- ignorance. I believe that everyone has a little bit of both knowledge and ignorance in them just like everyone has good and evil in them. Not everyone is completely knowledgeable nor is there a person that is completely ignorant just like there is not a person who is completely good nor is there a person who is completely evil. It is really all about what one chooses to manifest.

What is ignorance? Ignorance is simply the lack of knowledge. Everyone is ignorant about something whether it’s cooking, understanding people, or math. For example, I am a terrible cook because I am ignorant about cooking. I can easily learn to cook if I really wanted to. Sometimes the issue is a bit more troubling than just learning how to cook a pancake.

Ignorance can stem many bad things such as fear, greed, and typecasting. Typecasting is the most common form of ignorance because it happens every day and can leave some terrible scars. Typecasting is simply judging someone or teasing someone simply because he or she is different. Another name for it is bullying. Bullying is something that occurs in so many schools in today's world. I have been bullied myself simply because I was not as privileged as most of the kids I went to school with. Another terrible result of ignorance is greed. A good example is Hitler. Hitler had World War Two in the bag before he attacked Russia. He had signed the Warsaw Pact that protected him from Russia as long as he left them out of the war. Not even a year into the pact, Hitler attacked Russia. He attacked Russia because he felt like he needed more land and more power. It was an ignorant decision because now he had to fight from three fronts, and he had to fight three of the world's most powerful militaries. Not a wise decision on his part. Hitler became greedy, and it ended up back firing on him. Great Britain and the United States were coming from the west and south while Russia was coming from the east, and Hitler was cornered and the Nazis Germany fell.

Ignorance is not always a bad thing. It is all in the way one chooses to do with it. When one realizes he or she is ignorant about something, he or she has two options. He or she can either learn from it or ignore it. Choosing to ignore ignorance in oneself causes many issues for that person. He or she then becomes a bigot and continues to make the same mistake. If one chooses to learn from the ignorance, it turns into something more valuable-- knowledge.

Knowledge can be defined as taking one's mistakes and experiences and turning them into something good or bad. For example, if I were to cook a pizza for a hour, I would obviously burn it. I have two options here. I can either learn from my mistake and cook the pizza for only twenty minutes like the box says, or I can continue to burn the pizza. That is learning from one's mistakes. Another example could be if I decided to take a trip to Spain, I would learn so much more about the culture than say reading a book about it. That is an example of experience. Both are excellent ways to gain knowledge, but it is still all about the choice.

Knowledge can come in many shapes and personalities. One example comes from my all-time favorite movie, Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump is a movie about a man with an I.Q. of seventy-five going through life in the United States most changing times. Forrest lived a full life, and he accomplished many things in his life. He received a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his time in Vietnam, he became a Ping-Pong legend while he was recovering in a military hospital from a gunshot wound to the butt, and he started a multi-million dollar shrimp boating business in honor of his dear friend, Bubba. He gained so much knowledge about people and life throughout his life, and he never let anything stop him whether it was running across the country multiple times or never letting go his one true love, Jenny, and loving her despite her flaws and mistakes. Forrest may have had a disability, but he learned to never let that stop him. He gained so much knowledge about life, and he, in my opinion, is the smartest man alive despite his low I.Q.

Throughout this paper I have stressed how important it is to understand that there is a choice. One can be evil and knowledgeable, or one can be dangerous and ignorant. One can be good and knowledgeable like Albert Einstein, or one can be good but ignorant like Forrest Gump. It is all about the choice of which one chooses to become. Everyone has good and evil in them just like everyone has ignorance and knowledge in them, but it is all about what one chooses to manifest that turns them into what he or she wants to become. I once read a quote in a book that best summarizes my paper, "Your incredible brain will take you from rags to riches, from loneliness to popularity, and from depression to happiness and joy-- if you use it properly."