Ignorance Is Bliss

For many of us, the easiest way to get rid of our problems, if not the most effective, is to simply ignore them. Have a mountain of homework that needs to get done before tomorrow? Take a nap instead. Stressing about taking a relationship to the next level? Read 10:29 PM. Like every great struggle to grace the history of mankind, the temptation to shove our various issues to the back burner has been personified in meme form this month. That's right, I'm talking about Roll Safe.

Fascinating. 

If you're anything like me, you've probably seen this one going around, but didn't actually know what it was called. I confess, even I was forced to do a quick Google search to find its official name; maybe memes are starting to become too advanced for me. In any case. here's the story: the man is named Reece Simpson, aka Roll Safe, the subject of a BBC web series called Hood Documentary. The first recorded use of the meme was on some football soccer meme account (thanks, British people), returning with a vengeance in late January to grace everyone's Twitter feeds yet again. 

You can't be broke if you don't check your bank account pic.twitter.com/brpgiWflym

— Ryan (@RyanWindoww) January 23, 2017 

As always,  the meme itself hints at a larger issue lingering behind its self-deprecating surface. Though played up for laughs here, it does address a real issue that affects all of us at one point or another: we frequently ignore our problems until they reach critical mass. The reasons for this are numerous, but psychologist M. Farouk Radwan offers some insight into a few of them in hopes of understanding exactly why.

One of them is plain old laziness, a plague of the human condition since time immemorial. This is what convinces you to stay in your warm, soft bed instead of going to class, even though attendance is mandatory and you'll probably miss something important. The chemicals in our brains have amazing ways of tricking us into seeing something that is so obviously harmful to ourselves as something rational, and even pleasantly acceptable, Thus, it's easier just to shrug when your friends gape at you once you've told them you skipped a chem lab and a midterm to eat dry cereal in bed.

Another reason, with more serious psychological effects, is the fear of taking responsibility. Though this one can play into some meaningless task too, it can also be devastating to our lives and everyone in them. Compared to deliberately shutting off your alarm and rolling over, refusing to admit you killed someone while driving drunk seems like apples and oranges. Granted it's an extreme example, but indicative of the potential problems that can arise from, well, potential problems.

Sure, acknowledging our problems can be unpleasant, and sometimes downright horrible. But the key to tackling them is understanding that we have to face the pain that comes with them, or else they'll only continue to worsen until they balloon into something that's just too big to handle. So if you're sitting there with unfinished homework or a text that really needs to be sent, here's my advice: just do it. 

Wait, wrong meme...

Can't violate the Constitution if you never read it pic.twitter.com/A1KaOY1Rtk

— Tristan (@AyoTristan) February 1, 2017