Unity is one part love, one part hate, and one part ignorance. According to the Taoists (and I agree with this strongly), a true leader is one who can unite or harmonize the minds of the people. They must be of one love, cherishing the same things, and they must be of one hate, expressing the same dislikes. For both of these things are indelibly etched into the human soul, and if they will always be, then both must be focused and channeled appropriately. The people must also be, to a degree, ignorant. With many wise people comes many differing and often conflicting opinions, and while some would argue that from this conflict comes resolution, the immediate effect is disunity, chaos and unreliability in times of need. An open minded people may benefit from a wealth of knowledge, but without a way to be certain that all reach the same conclusion, conflict will be the inevitable result. What good is a wealth of knowledge if there is no consensus on how it must be used? While ignorant people suffer in that the individual is denied access to a wealth of information, they do benefit in a strong sense of absolution, unity, duty, and morality, because they have experienced only one dominant truth. Open mindedness benefits a society in the moment, but ultimately leads to corruption, diminished sense of collective self, and immorality. Close mindedness takes constant toll on a people, but it ensures the traits of an enduring cultural and national identity. Solomon once said that he who increases in knowledge increases in sorrow. This is true both on the scale of the individual and of the nation.
Applying the concept of Yin and Yang, or any Law of Balance, though, this idea can be rendered meaningless. There will always be flukes, things that do not adhere to the system, whether for good or for ill. In a close minded society, there will always be those who rebel against the barriers erected between them and information that the system denies them. In today's America, these are often thought of as heroes, and our culture glorifies them in all forms of media. This is the road more travelled. The rarer alternative is that in an open minded society, there are occasionally those who see the long term drawbacks of the system, and attempt to either flee or subvert it. These are often thought of as villains, and our present culture demonizes any non-conformity to open mindedness. This is the road less travelled, and therefore, I think, the more noble one.
