Ignorance is Bliss
Ignorance is bliss definition
- Not knowing something is often more comfortable
than knowing it.
- Note: This proverb resembles “What you don't know cannot hurt you.” It figures in a passage
from “On a Distant Prospect of Eton College,” by the eighteenth-century English poet Thomas Gray: “Where ignorance is bliss, / ‘Tis folly to be wise.’”
As I catch
campaign 2016 commercials on the television’s various networks, I harken back
to the good old days when politicians had a touch of class and decency (sorry
for the use of an oxymoron).
Nothing happens
today especially on the campaign trail that doesn’t get immediate exposure on
the internet. Even television networks
find themselves leading from behind because everyone is tweeting, and otherwise
posting to the social media (Facebook).
Back in the
days before the internet, an illegal activity could be taking place in the next
block from your residence and you might never hear of it, except for maybe a
nosey neighbor that might be known for spreading gossip. Regularly cases were exposed where a husband
or wife might be having an affair on the opposite side of town (population
15,000 and bigger) and no one would be the wiser, they might even live in total
bliss not knowing of the betrayal.
I recall that
when I was involved in my career (28 years), my office would be on the West Side of the State, and my area of responsibility was on the East Side of the State. I was on the road on average 2500 miles per
month, and was away from home anywhere from 3 to 4 days, and sometimes the
whole week. One unscrupulous individual
in my office that didn’t travel, asked me if I had a second family going on
while I was away.
In the course
of my business I met many individuals that were well off and traveled in their
business, and while not everyone was doing it I knew a number of individuals
that traveled with mistresses. One that
comes to mind was married to a beautiful wife that had been a professional
model, and even after having 3 children and in her late 20’s still looked like
the famous model that my friend had met and married.
This story was
conveyed by my friend as we chatted over a couple of drinks in his newly
decorated bachelor apartment. It was a
Friday night when his wife received a call from one of her friends who was on
vacation. She asked her friend where is
Ben (the name has been changed to protect the guilty), and her answer was he is
attending a trade convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Her friend responded, I’m not doing this to
hurt you but as a friend, to help you.
My husband and I are at a resort in Hawaii and Ben just came into the
lounge with a young brunette on his arm, and they are acting like
honeymooners. She sent a video of the
two hugging and kissing in a booth.
By the time my
friend got home most of his clothes were packed and near the front entrance of his palatial home. She had contacted an
attorney over the weekend and began the process of divorce, and division of
property. My friend was in the land development
business, and owned commercial properties, undeveloped land, an exclusive golf
course (Country Club), one of the largest and very popular furniture stores in
town (established by his father in the mid 1950’s). By the time his wife was done with him he was
near bankruptcy, and had lost most of the inheritance his parents had left
him. The times when “Ignorance is Bliss,’
applied, went out when the smart phones with cameras and videos, and social
media came in.
I am a very
happily married man, because I love my family and they love me. It doesn’t hurt that in my relationship I
always get the last word. Unfortunately,
it’s almost always, “yes dear!” The best is yet to come….
