One thing that frequently bothers me about people is their misguided idea
of innocence. The classical human example of innocence is a young baby or
child, unaware of the evils that go on in the world and, because of that
ignorance, untouched by it. While it is true that children are innocent in
this sense, it necessarily means that the common conception of innocence is
reliant upon ignorance: When the children are exposed to evil or corruption
of some kind, they believe it in turn will corrupt those children, and the
innocence is lost.
  It genuinely disturbs me to think that people believe we must remain
unaware to remain pure. Ignorance is not regarded as a positive condition in
adults, yet in children it is encouraged, even vigorously enforced, for fear
that those children will be warped by things they see. It is true that
children grow up impressionable, but if they are encouraged to grow up that
way, they will simply grow up into impressionable adults who are just as
vulnerable to influence.
  The idea that when a person becomes an adult, they automatically become
less vulnerable to social pressure is absolutely false. Adults can be
motivated to acts of violence by violence seen in (for example) a TV show or
movie just as much as children can. The reason many adults are not impressed
by such media violence is, quite specifically, because they have been
desensitized to it by previous exposure to it. I am not suggesting that we
should try to desensitize children by exposing them to violence, but it does
underline the point that innocence is lost through one's influences, not
simply by age.
  What is really sad is how many people find the dark side of life attractive
once they see it; So many people, once exposed to the underbelly of the
world, with its hatred, violence, crime, and morbidity are drawn to it like
moths to a flame. Why are people not able to be aware, yet stay pure? Why can
people not learn of the true nature of the world, both the good and the bad,
and after knowing what really goes on in the world, still stay innocent?
After all, innocence is not lost by knowing the truth; Innocence is defined
in my dictionary as "free from moral wrong". Why can people not resist the
darkness?
  I can only conclude that people are weak-willed. This seems a logical
conclusion to me, since we see several blatant examples of it in everyday
life. People who fully well know that something is wrong will do it for their
own benefit, and worse yet, many people will do the wrong thing simply for
fun. It does not make a positive statement about human nature in general.
  What's sad about the people who do stay innocent and unaware (and there are
several adults who have managed to grow up without knowing the half of the
evil side of the world) is that most of them are willfully ignorant. Their
avoidance of the "real world" has kept them from the typical vices, but also
taken away any semblance of an enriched life.
  The world we live in is fairly large. Within it is a seemingly endless
array of geographic, zoological and cultural diversity. To explore it would
take more than a lifetime; There is so much to see and do in our world that
you will not have covered it all by the time you die. Yet to explore it is a
fascinating journey that will help you to really understand the nature of our
world and how it works. The end result is, inevitably, a more cultured,
well-rounded person. But to achieve this requires one to cast off their fear
of the unknown.
  Strike the balance. Find the point where you are able to learn about the
world without conforming to it; Learn to be your own decision-maker, not
becoming like what you see, but like what you believe to be right. And then
you can begin to explore our world, and you will still be innocent. But you
will no longer be like a simple child; You will have found knowledge.