Seeking asylum from the facts

If, as Dunning and Kruger explained, you're too ignorant to know you are ignorant, you will tend to think you know all there is to know. In which case, there is next to no chance you'll ever engage with this issue, let alone any other.

But it appears to me that many Australians seem to be seeking asylum from the facts. Unlike the true asylum seekers, they quickly find it in the slogans, dog-whistling rhetoric of our politicians. But why do they seek it? It's something to do with fear.

It could be a fear of "uninvited" guests. Or a fear of having to care, Because of the responsibilities it brings with it. Or perhaps it's the fear of admitting that Australia has acted stupidly, arrogantly and callously for more than a decade. Clearly, any such admission hurts the national self-image. Too many of us prefer to maintain ignorance and hold grimly to the fairy-story of the opportunistic invader.

To borrow from a successful lobbying campaign of a year or two ago, the current strategy won't work, and it will hurt. As a matter of fact, it's hurting now. Hiding in a corner and clinging to your ignorance like a baby blanket won't change anything.