Why are people so ignorant?

Question:

Why are people so ignorant?

For long as people have been around there has been oppression and discrimination against minorities: for being a different color, or having a different religion, being gay, being a woman or even being from a different region. We learn in school about what Jewish people went through in the Holocaust, and what blacks went through when they were enslaved, and again the oppression they faced in the 50??s and 60??s. Even today women in some countries have no rights. (for a few examples) People see what hardships oppressed people go through yet it continues. Why are people still being oppressed and discriminated against? What does it take for people to realize that it is not right to oppress and discriminate against others?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Your last statement contains part of the answer: we as human beings tend to disagree on "what is right." For some, it is ok to dehumanize others in order to meet their own needs; that's what Germany and Hitler did with the Jews during WWII. For others, it is ok to objectify individuals and fly planes into buildings, as on 9/11. Until such time as we have a concensus as to what is "right," we will continue to have conflict and oppression.

As to what it takes - the real silver bullet for this ailment is education. The more people know, the more they understand about others who are different from themselves, and the more similarities they see, the less they will be able to label a particular group as "the others" and hurt that group in order to have a particular thing for themselves.