Posts Tagged: demagogues and leaders

“IN TOUCH WITH MY OWN IGNORANCE”

On October 28, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Sometimes, small interactions expose big problems.  For example . . .

My wife and I were talking yesterday about the horrible shooting in the “Jewish synagogue” in Pittsburgh.  When Sharon used the expression “Jewish synagogue,” I cocked my head in the shape of a question mark. She caught the body language and asked a simple question.  “Oh, I guess there’s no other kind of synagogue, is there?”

“I don’t think so,” I replied.  “It’s a bit like speaking of a ‘Jewish rabbi.’”

But then, she asked me a question that brought my train of thought to a screeching halt.  “Do any other religions call their place of worship a ‘synagogue’?”

And then, my ignorance tapped me on the shoulder.  When I turned around my ignorance sucker-punched me.  “I don’t think so, but now that I think about it, I’m not sure.”

So, I went to the modern equivalent of the ancient Delphic oracle.  I googled it.

And wouldn’t you know it, there is another group that calls their place of worship a synagogue!  The Samaritans, who live within the modern state of Israel, worship in a synagogue.

Sometimes I can’t help feeling awestruck by my own ignorance.  This was one of those occasions.  And here is why I felt such a sense of awe at my own ignorance: The Bible and everything related to it is my baby.  And the Samaritans, in addition to still being in existence (a small community, but still present), are mentioned in the Bible.  And I didn’t even know what their place of worship was called.

I don’t much mind being ignorant about cars, and electrical stuff, and plumbing, and what color of shirt goes with what color of pants.  But to be ignorant of something related to the Bible?  Now that is disturbing!

And yet, in my old age, I am becoming much more content with my ignorance.  After all, there is a lot to not know.

It is very important to be in touch with my own ignorance, but there is a stage beyond even that.  It is the stage of accepting my own ignorance.  Acceptance doesn’t mean that I can’t learn more, or that I don’t need to learn more.  Quite the contrary!  Acceptance is a prelude to acquiring more knowledge.  I can only move beyond ignorance after I’ve accepted it.

And now, back to the tragic events that led to this little reflection on the precise meaning of the word “synagogue,” I must ask myself—and you, dear reader—a profoundly simple question: What caused this man to think that he knew enough to mow down a bunch of people at a Jewish synagogue?  The reason I ask this is because I have a suspicion that it is not ignorant people who do this sort of thing.  No, it is the ones who are sure that they know.  Be very cautious about knowing too much.  You don’t.  Neither do I.  Neither does anyone else.

And never follow anyone who knows too much.  The difference between a demagogue and a leader is this: The demagogue knows everything, whereas a leader knows slightly more than the one’s he/she is leading.  Good leaders know that there is a lot they don’t know, and they don’t pretend that they do.

, , ,
Follow on Feedly