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EDITORIAL: Knowledge is power rings true

If experiencing a pandemic has any advantages, it would be that it presses us strongly as individuals to be observant, to absorb and heed information and to act accordingly.

It has been something, unlike some of the many other so-called important aspects of life, we haven’t had the luxury to ignore. 

It has in many cases forced us to think strategically, creatively, collectively and perhaps most importantly, philosophically.

The pandemic was initially a slap-in-the-face reminder that humanity is ultimately at the mercy of nature and how we as a rationalising animal worked with nature would provide ways of getting through the disaster.



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It has since also prompted in many an examination of who we are as people, cultures, communities and individuals.

The effect or threat of disaster has historically probed and tested societies’ collective willingness to be broad-minded and educated. 

It opens the door for us to embrace humanity and understanding through the accumulation of knowledge or to release our darkest prejudices.

Critically, it forces us to think, which should in turn prompt us into getting fully informed. 

Get everything right and balanced from what we’ve learnt and we kick a major goal for the good of all. 

Get it wrong and rely on ill-informed blind faith and the doors to the evils of bigotry, intolerance and narrow-mindedness swing freely and losers outnumber the winners.

We have had no better view of an overall need for people to stay informed, especially within the freedoms of democracy, than what we’ve seen unfold in the United States of America in the past year.

People living in a blinkered environment driven by blind ideological faith and fuelled by a radical figurehead and ignorance have always presented a dangerous cocktail.

What’s happening in the US might seem a world away for people living in the Wimmera. But the message, opportunities and dangers remain the same. 

The smarter, more informed and more educated we are, particularly about people, the better off and armed to deal with issues we become.

This is nothing to do with having a university degree or some kind of amazing intellect. 

It is simply about being open to the idea of learning, regardless of how large and small, to improve our collective levels of knowledge and to be engaged in our communities.

Many would have heard the comment ‘don’t be ignorant’ as a casual response in conversation to someone saying something silly or inappropriate.

This advice is more profound than we realise.

The entire January 20, 2021 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!