We are living in a weird kind of world. Our physical needs are well catered for in a modern and comfortable environment, but our mental state is in turmoil, we often feel disenchanted and disempowered. The world does not make sense anymore and everything seems to be upside down. Go Figure!
This article is my attempt to shed some light on this current state of affairs. Let’s pause for a minute or two and think about some essential life lessons. Before you assume, learn the fact. Before you judge, understand why. Before you hurt someone, feel. Before you speak think.
Thinking is part of what makes us human. What differentiates humans from animals is our cognitive abilities such as fully developed language, reasoning capabilities, and the ability to make plans for the future. We are all born with the capacity to think, but not everyone is capable of critical thinking, and it is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced with discipline.
The problem is that most people don’t know what thinking is, they confuse it with feeling. Go figure!
“The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t read. The problem isn’t even that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is, he confuses it with feeling.”
Thomas Sowell
We all like to think of ourselves as rational, strategic creatures, but in reality, humans are deeply irrational and are often governed by emotion rather than logic. Moreover, we tend to operate within our own echo chamber, where the only information that goes through our brain is information that validates our prior knowledge, vindicates our prior decision, or sustains our existing beliefs.
Critical thinking means many things, but at heart, it is a search for the truth. Critical thinking helps us determine what is real and what it is not. But before we can exercise our cognitive ability to think critically, we need to have a certain knowledge base as a starting point. We can only think critically about things we have knowledge of. We don’t have the structure to think deeply if we haven’t spent time mastering a body of knowledge related to that thinking.
The way to arrive at the truth is through discussion because the truth is never absolute it is always complex and dynamic. You can’t have a deep discussion about some important issues without having freedom of expression. You know that you live in a free society if you can speak your mind without fear of being harassed, bullied, censored, canceled, or dismissed from your job because of something you said. You know that you live in a tyranny if you are censored, bullied, harassed, and the “Thought Police /The Ministry of Truth” are after you because of something you said that goes against the official narrative.
“History books are full of stories of people being violently silenced because of their opinion. The people doing the silencing are never the good guys.”
Politicians want to establish themselves as morally and intellectually superior to the population, [warning: you may lose some brain cells watching them speak.] People in positions of power tend to think that Common people are incapable of thinking for themselves so they step in, and talk to the citizenry with a condescending tone to make them understand that the government can think for them instead and dictate to them how they should live their life.
Freedom of expression is the lifeblood and cornerstone of a free society, without the freedom to think and express ourselves freely, there is no free society. So, we’d better start thinking for ourselves freely before it becomes illegal. Don’t get all romantic about your ideas and the ideas that the group promotes. You are not married to those ideas. Some ideas are good and others not so good. Stay free to adhere to the ideas that are congruent with your outlook in life and toss aside anything that makes you uncomfortable.
People should be able to stand for what they think is right. They should be able to fight for what is honorable and they should have the freedom to reject what is slimy and unacceptable. The problem these days is that people are becoming more and more unhinged about all kinds of issues, and they do this with a kind of totalitarian certainty about their beliefs that is concerning. You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to tell me what mine should be and don’t try to shove your ideas down my throat because I am perfectly capable of forming my own ideas about this and that.
“Just because I disagree with you, does not mean that I hate you. We need to relearn that in our society”
Morgan Freeman
If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. Go figure!
Thomas Jefferson is believed to be the true author of this quote; he explained his thinking further by adding that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; in as much as he who knows nothing is nearer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.
We are living in a world of information overload, data about almost everything is available to all who wish to access it at the click of a button. We are constantly bombarded by a steady stream of information (sometimes misinformation, and disinformation) about a whole range of subject matters, making it very difficult to know what and who to believe.
Misinformation is false information that is being spread, regardless of intent to mislead. Disinformation on the other hand is false information that is deliberately misleading, manipulated narrative or facts or propaganda that is being spread with the intent to hurt or damage a person or organization. Did you know that the world media is owned by only 9 corporations who have a near-monopoly on the type of information that people receive? Those 9 corporations are exercising an enormous amount of influence on how people perceive the world they live in.
“The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power.”
Malcolm X
We are living in the age of deception. The truth is not the truth anymore. Facts don’t matter anymore, what matters is how you feel about this and that. People get triggered and enraged by inconvenient facts that they are not ready to receive. Those who are in control need the masses to constantly live in a state of fear and anger. Fear drive people to turn to the government to protect and save them. Anger is always useful because governments like to have the masses turn their anger and frustration onto the boogeyman who can be blamed for everything. Go figure!
The most disturbing aspect of what is going on in the world today is that it is tearing apart our society and family. Take a family of 4 individuals, each member of this family has their personalized information funnel that they come to rely upon, and trust and it is typically different for all 4 members of this family, tearing them apart. Those narratives purposefully polarize our families and society.
The net effect is that people are exhausted from the conflicting narratives, people are getting sick and tired of trying to figure out who and what to believe. More and more people are suffering from media fatigue they are becoming so disillusioned by all the lies and nonsense that they reject all kind of information that is coming through. Go figure!
But there is a silver lining, this media fatigue is driving people to learn to trust a deeper source of truth i.e., their truth. People are saying: to themselves “I don’t know what’s true and what’s not true out there, but I know what is true for me.” For some people is just a gut feeling for others is a deeper form of personal truth. When things get really crazy, they stop for a minute or two and say to themselves. “That doesn’t sound right at all. Am I being played? Well, there is no way for me to be sure of anything, but I am not playing this game.” This way of thinking opens a path for us to become less vulnerable and less susceptible to all those manipulation media tactics because we empower ourselves and become no longer the victims of misinformation and disinformation.
We need people who are so strong they can be gentle. So educated, they can be humble. So fierce, they can be compassioante. So passionate, they can be rational and so disciplined, they can be free.”
Unknown author
And this, my dear friend is Your Quest. Go figure how the world works and find your own silver lining.
Happy 4th of July to all my American friends and followers.
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thank you for your post. we live in a time when leaders speak of one thing, they actually mean the opposite. trying to make sense of complex matters is confusing. many covid 19 policies are illogical and irrational. yet, there is some reason or rationale for them. what is it?
Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment I am so glad my arricle resonates with you. In agreement with your assessment. Go figure!