I recently had a good friend use the term willful ignorance. Seemed like a descriptive term for 2025 to replace “sticking your head in the sand” or “turning a blind eye.” 

Dear Neighbor, 

2025 seems to be a year of passionate feelings and an absence of norms. The amplification of the news these days often seems to result in a big load of worry for many of us. How do you deal with worry or concern about your community, your state, your nation? Do you choose to engage or avoid?  

I am well aware that I sometimes manage to do both as I attempt to escape the stress of news that just isn’t normal in a working democracy. (Yes, I’m using the term that most of us grew up using to describe our pride in our nation.) I regularly hear folks state that they can no longer bear to watch the news, that it’s 1- too depressing, or 2 – not to be trusted. 

Just today, in answer to that southern greeting of, “Hey, how are you?” I replied that I was fine, but that I’m worried about our country. The reply, “just don’t watch the news,” is too extreme for me. Now if avoiding the news by choosing a different activity allows you a brief respite from reality, an opportunity to totally escape, to “be in the zone,” good for you! If you’re still thinking about whatever it is that concerns you about the current orchestrated chaos, perhaps avoidance is only a perceived escapism tool that creates  more stress and deepens depression. 

Think news can’t be trusted and so you simply choose to avoid it all? How’s that working for you? Does it bring you peace of mind or more worries about what you don’t know? How successful are those blinders in an information age? Do we really want to avoid anything that may be controversial or frightening? Or is it a time in history for Americans to stand for democratic values by staying informed and knowledgeable?    

I recently had a good friend use the term willful ignorance. Seemed like a descriptive term for 2025 to replace “sticking your head in the sand” or “turning a blind eye.”  Oxford Dictionary defines willful as “having or showing a stubborn and determined intention to do as one wants, regardless of the consequences or effects.” Ignorance, defined, is “a lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.” Let’s not allow willful ignorance to become our guidepost. This is not a time to give up.  

Engage locally – find community, talk to your neighbor, join local organizations, read your hometown paper.  Engage on a state level – learn how our General Assembly works, what bills are on the table and how your representatives voted, find numerous news resources that focus on NC news and use them to cross check and verify factual information. Engage nationally – discover substacks and podcasts and new journalists, scrutinize traditional news sources, continue to take breaks and do those things that make you happy or bring moments of peace. 

Don’t succumb to willful ignorance. Take a deep breath and stay engaged. 

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.

Pam Bloom