"Is It Rational to Be Politically Ignorant?"

Read Dr. Vallicella's Substack essay on the question of whether being politically ignorant is the wiser way to live. (Charitably, "political ignorance" means focusing on what can be controlled by you and not worrying about what happens in the wider world.) Excerpt:

Is it rational for me to stay informed? Yes, because of my intellectual eros, my very strong desire to understand the world and what goes on in it. The philosopher is out to understand the world; if he is smart he will cherish no illusions about changing it in any fundamental ways, pace Karl Marx's 11th thesis in his Theses on Feuerbach: “The philosophers have variously interpreted the world; the point, however, is to change it.”

Another reason for people like me to stay informed is to be able to anticipate what is coming down the pike and prepare so as to protect myself, my stoa, and the tools of my trade. For example, my awareness of Biden’s fiscal irresponsibility is necessary if I am to make wise decisions as to how much of my money I should invest in precious metals and other hard assets. Being able to anticipate ‘Obaminations’ re: 'gun control' will allow me to buy what I need while it is still to be had legally. These days a bookman must needs be a rifleman lest his library be ‘decolonized’ by a band of ‘woke’ thugs. In such trying times as these, ‘lead' joins the precious metals and can prove to be useful for the protection of gold, not to mention the defense of such sentient beings as oneself and one's family.

In brief, a reason to stay apprised of current events is not so that I can influence or change them, but to be in a position so that they don't influence or change me.

Nice dig, slipped in there, at the activistic nature of Marxism.