Per Ardua

Per Ardua, the Latin phrase that makes up the McIntyre namesake's clan motto, is a popular little phrase. It appears in various forms throughout the history of Latin and is used to varying ends. Used as a singular statement, as it is in our motto, it means, roughly, 'Through Adversity'. When paired with the phrase 'Ad Astra', as it is in the motto for the RCAF and NASA, it becomes the decidedly more poetic 'Per Ardua Ad Astra', which means 'Through Adversity, To The Stars'. A noble idea. So noble, in fact, that I decided to have it permanently tattooed, in it's shortened form, onto the scarred flesh of my inner arm about two weeks before my twenty third birthday.

I had been having a tough time figuring out my place in the world, and an even tougher time doing so without killing myself. I was living in Vancouver and things were not proceeding according to plan. One day I was walking downtown, and something about the beautiful August weather made me walk into a tattoo shop, sit down, and etch 'Per Ardua' in black script on my left arm. I've never regretted it, and I doubt I ever will. It means a lot to me, and it says a lot about me and my family. Say what you want about us. We endure. We survive.

The decision to have the short form, Per Ardua, instead of the full saying tattooed was more an economical one than anything else. I only had so much cash and so much room on my arm, and it was my first tattoo. I've always looked at it as a half finished sentence, purposefully so, and that the 'To The Stars' half is implied, to me at least, in the first half. Through Adversity to the Stars. What could be more noble? What could be a better phrase to guide you in times of stress?

I tell this story because lately, in the media, in conversation, in any number of public forums and situations, I have begun to see a shocking and frankly terrifying theme emerge when discussions turn from 'everyday' topics like entertainment, sports, career, to topics of what some might call a 'political' nature with people of my generation and the generation above me.

Pride in Willful Ignorance.

The old cliche's are as familiar as they are trite. 'I don't watch the news, it's too depressing', or 'newspapers are boring' or 'who cares about x country'. These are things that are somewhat expected, if not accepted, coming from the mouth of a sixteen year old. They're young, they have no responsibility and they've just discovered that everyone else thinks about sex just as much as they do. I can even understand it from a certain type of adult. Sometimes, there are just kids to raise and jobs to do. That much I understand. What I don't understand is this amazing ability people have to be presented with facts, facts that have very little conflict about them, and to completely disregard them. To disregard things that are true, and to embrace things that are oftentimes utterly false. And what's worse, once they've embraced this ignorance, they trumpet it for all to hear. On the one hand of course I'm talking about politicians and media hacks who disseminate false information to their audience for political, social or economic gain. I've seen it every day for years now, and it truly makes me angry. But on the other hand, I'm also talking about the people who watch these politicians and hacks and hear what they have to say, and are told just how false and dangerous what they're doing really is, and they Don't Give A Shit.

What happened to humanity? There have always been morons and ignorant people, but the balance was tipped towards the intelligent. For centuries intelligent people ran the world. Mad people? Sure. Liers, thieves, butchers, some of them. But smart. And the ignorant were never proud of their lack of knowledge. They were embarrassed by it, and rightly so. Did we drain the well? Did the intelligence run dry and get replaced with ignorance, like a lazy bootlegger switching whiskey for wood alcohol? If that's the case, then the intellectual equivalent of alcohol poisoning is well underway, the blindness and insanity has already set in, and soon I fear that the death of the intelligent human will be around the corner. And it needs to stop.

I don't think of myself as a particularly gifted person, intellectually speaking. I'm not a simpleton, but I'm nowhere near the level of my intellectual idols, and I think that should always be the case. I think that's a wonderful ideal to set for yourself, to see the intelligence of other people, great people, and to aspire one day reach their level, even if that aspiration is or seems impossible to attain. I think great deeds by great people have been accomplished by the simple act of looking to something out of reach, and longing to be close enough to grasp it, if only for a moment. I think this aspiration needs to be put back to the forefront of society. To put intelligence ahead of ignorance, intellectual fortitude above ideological force. Brains before brawn, as the saying goes. I truly believe that if we don't put value back into educating ourselves and understanding the world around us, we're doomed, stuck on a rock with nowhere to go, and nothing to do but devolve. I don't know what will happen if humanity as a whole starts reading more, or listening more, or questioning more, but I can't conceive of a single negative result of a person reaching for more understanding, greater knowledge, further information. Through adversity.

To the stars.