Independent Thought
Independent Thought
I wonder why the majority of people in the US accept the opinions of celebrities and politicians as absolute truth yet distrust what scientists say about the same subjects?
That’s why I am starting this site. I intend to discuss both social and environmental issues and back up my statements with facts.
I have advocated for years that statements concerning major decisions should be evaluated as to their truth before a person blindly follows the advice.
“Who’s telling you what and why?” That is what you should ask yourself whenever you hear or read something that seems illogical or contrary to what you had previously believed.
Scientists, by definition, are seekers of truth. We study the cause and effect of everything that we observe. We want to know the ‘why’s’ of the world around us.
Survival is impossible without making decisions that are valid, that is, are based on a ‘truth’. Decisions that are based on opinion have no validity because opinions are simply that, opinions. Everyone has a differing opinion that has been formed based on family prejudices. We are taught to conform to the values of the family into which we have been born. Here we develop our opinions regarding food, social interaction and fears. We are taught as children that our survival is based on our acceptance of the values of our parents.
As we mature, we learn. We experience and interact with people who have different opinions and we start to change our own home-instilled opinions.
How radically we depart from our original opinions are a function of how persuasive those people are that we encounter. We are taught by our parents to accept the values of our elementary school teachers because these are people who ‘know’. They are educated therefore, we are told, that we must believe them.
Perhaps they are ‘educated’ but they still have opinions of their own and if we question those opinions, we get ‘Ds’; if we accept them, we get ‘A’s’.
In short, if we think for ourselves, we get into trouble.
The same process, except much more so, exists in the military. The person who thinks for himself rather that following orders is labeled a ‘misfit’ and a ‘trouble-maker’.
There is, however, justification for no independent thinking in the military. Military success is predicated on applying the correct estimates of manpower and weapon requirements necessary to win a battle or a war. Winning means survival; losing can mean death.
Going into battle requires an ordered move toward a specific and a single objective by coordinated groups and timing is critical for success. Anyone arriving too soon will either be killed or will alert the enemy to an impending attack. Anyone arriving too late will leave the people depending on his support in a weakened and dangerous position.
There is no room for independent decisions. Orders cannot be questioned, for better or for worse.
So, the question is should we think to survive in society or should we simply do what we are told by people that we trust?
The answer is, “It depends.”
