Desire, Ignorance and Want

I'll admit, I get freaked out by stupid things. Last night I was re-reading A Christmas Carol, and came across the passage where the Ghost of Christmas Present introduces Scrooge to the children of Man who are under his robe- for those not familiar with the story, the passage is as follows-
“They are Man’s,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.”

They are in appearance two dirty, starving children, and represent, well, ignorance and want. Why are they hanging around with the Ghost of Christmas Present? Perhaps because at this time they are both concealed and at the same time more intensely known than any other time of the year. The Spirit says they are "appealing from their fathers"- those people in ignorance, want or both. Why does this scare me so much? Because Dickens is very much right- written on the forehead of Ignorance is indeed doom- the destruction of man. Not nuclear war, not murder and wanton destruction- these things are merely the tools of ignorance. Ignorance itself is much deeper, much more sinister- it uses these things like a musician uses an instrument, and holds in its dirty, scrawny hands the capability to destroy everything man has accomplished.
I always thought ignorance was curable through knowledge- I drew a distinction between ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance is simply a state of not knowing; once you know, then ignorance is cured. Stupidity is refusing or actively resisting knowing- I don't want to see, I won't see rather than I did not know. However, I begin to understand Dickens' definition of ignorance, and find it pretty similar to what I had grasped- ignore-ance- what I always thought was stupidity. It's not a state of not knowing, it's a state of either voluntarily or involuntarily turning a blind eye to suffering and want- especially when it's within our power to help other people. In the time and place Dickens wrote, this was especially pronounced, with a huge gap between the richest and poorest citizens.
I think the problem is, as it was then, a little deeper than mere social reform could cure. Ignorance is a two-way street; people who are in want and need may not know how to remedy their situation- however, there are those who simply do not do so. Don't misunderstand, I am a firm believer in giving my fellow men and women a helping hand when they need it- it's a way to a better place for them, and besides, no man stands alone, he stands with the help of his brothers and sisters. However, when a man refuses to stand, how can he be helped?
So the answer is not more charity- it's different charity. I try (and on rare occasions succeed) to live a life of inspiration, to do acts that inspire the goodness in all people. This is not always easy, and I'll admit I've gotten hosed a couple times. But I try to turn no one away who comes to me in need of help. Wasn't it Socrates who said not a life, but a good life is to be chiefly valued?
So what does this have to do with desire? This is a part of ignorance, I've found- no matter where we are, it can be that we see what else is in the world, and how that is so much more appealing than our own situation. But when we get there, there will always be something just beyond our reach, or something we yet do not have. This way lies madness, and is the Buddhist definition of suffering- being unable to enjoy where we are, always continuously looking away from the present to what could be- not what is. I think it's a shortcoming of the language that we have only one word for desire- to desire some things in some way is good- to desire other things in a different way is harmful. To desire, for example, to see a person in need be helped, or to help them, is a good thing. To constantly desire what we do not have is not, and drives us to distraction. And in the end, we can end up losing what would have made us happy all along.