In the same way a man can be chained to an oak tree, a mind
can be chained to an assumption, a religion, or any idea. But
the idea, like the tree, should not be blamed. It is inanimate
and is good or bad only in how it is used. Instead it’s the chain
that must be questioned, and the motivations of the people
using them. Each mind is unique for its infinite ideas and can
be used to think about anything in a thousand ways. Any act
that confines a mind to a singular way of thinking cannot be
good. And yet all communities, from families, to schools, to
gangs, have ideas members are expected to adopt without
question. This doesn’t make them evil, but it doesn’t make
them liberators either.
Like the rules to a new board game, we absorb these ideas with
our minds at half-power, since our goal is to learn and follow.
Traditional education mostly teaches us to copy, to memorize,
and apply other people’s theories. What does this train us for
other than performing these thoughtless behaviors throughout
our lives?
And the things that are considered taboo in our societies, acts
that violate traditions, are banned without parents, teachers
or leaders understanding why. Why is being seen in underwear
embarrassing, but in a bathing suit is not? Why are nipples
and flesh forbidden to see, when everyone has them? Why are
alcohol, nicotine and Prozac legal, but marijuana and Absinthe
criminal? It’s un-free thinking, this accepting of an idea simply
because someone said so. If an idea is good, it will thrive in fair
debate and discussion, and if it’s weak, it will wither away.
Wisdom demands two questions: Why do we believe what
we believe? How do we know what we know? They should be
stamped on every schoolbook and posted in every meeting
place and home to encourage independent thought. It should
be tattooed on the forehead of anyone arrogant enough to
dictate orders for others to follow.
When a child asks “why,” to every answer, the game often ends
with the parent embarrassing the child: “Stop being silly,”
they say. But they are hiding their own embarrassment. It’s
harder for them to say “I don’t know” despite its truth. Why
not be proud of the child’s inquisitive mind and hope they ask
questions their entire lives? We all know less than we think,
and learning it starts by admitting ignorance, and asking more
questions, not fewer.
"Scott Berkun"
