By Robert R. Reilly, Crisis Magazine - But we need to know. Some, no doubt, would rather engage in what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn called “the desire not to know,” thinking that ignorance will save them from the obligation of doing anything about the evil surrounding them. As Austin warns, they bury themselves in manic internet diversions and entertainment. However, things are so bad today that one can hardly not know. These are hard times for Pollyanna.