Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Earth is no longer flat

Well, at least The Earth is Flat is no more.....in other words I'm shutting down my other blog The Earth is Flat and I'm going to move the old posts from there over here. And then continue with this blog with a combination of serious and more lighthearted input.

Here to start off is the first post I wrote over there, with some necessary corrective and self-preservation editing:

Being a Free Thinker
13th March 2008


One often hears people using the phrase, “I’m a free thinker”. What they are in fact doing when they say that is marking the fact that they don’t consider themselves to be like anyone else. Well, let me ask you, who in their right individual mind does consider themselves to be like anyone else? Everyone, who is mentally healthy, should consider themselves to be unique to some degree, and in various ways, both large and small.

No, people who say that are usually far from free thinkers, they simply want others to know that they generally don’t agree with one or more commonly held views, for example, racism is wrong. So many racists, rather than say, “No it isn’t” fall back on their standard phrase, “Well, I’m a free thinker” rather than defend racism.

The “I’m a free thinker” crowd nearly always use the phrase as a get-out clause. And truth be told the one thing they are most frightened of is free thinking. They want to be part of the status quo but they also want to be viewed as different to Joe Bloggs. And that’s a dilemma most of them can never work their way out of.
That’s just an example of the misuse of the phrase “free thinker”.

With this blog, I want people to consider what free thinking and free expression really are. Thinking freely, devoid of influence from society as a whole, being able to express your innermost thoughts, ideas, desires and so on, devoid of what your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours might say if you express something, some desire, some wish, some need outside the norm. Devoid of influence from the accepted norms, ethics, standards and morals of modern society.

Free thinking and expression is about analysisng what you personally feel, not what your employer, your superior officer, your parents, your spouse, your church, your political party or your pensions advisor says you should feel.

It’s about using your intelligence and your emotions to think and form opinions for yourself. To decide what you really want, not on some nonsensical, abstract, Oprah level about “life’s goals” and other such pseudo-spiritual rubbish.

But about what you want on a daily basis with regard to work, food, sex, money, clothing, sports, hobbies and so on. And about not being afraid to freely express your innermost thoughts, opinions,desires, hates and so on.

Free thinking and free expression is being able to say that, no, I don’t buy into that oft repeated platitude ”all races are equal”. And I don’t think all peoples are equally as developed and intelligent as each other. And I don’t think everyone thinks the same the world over and I know that not everyone shares the same ethics, standards and morals. And I know that not every nationality values life equally. A simple look at the conflicts currently ongoing around the world will tell any sane person all of the above. But saying all that doesn’t make me a racist or even the same as the racist, who simply falls back on “I’m a free thinker” without any explanation. I’m simply an acute observer of people’s behaviour the world over, behaviour and values that differ so greatly from my own!

So don’t tell me I’m the same as a Saudi Arabian executioner cutting off a person’s head in public, because I could never contemplate killing someone, I’ve never even felt like I really want to.

Being a free thinker does mean of course that you will have to defend your views more often than not. But if that frigthens you off, if you let society, colleagues, family tell you that your thoughts, views, emotions are wrong then you are not a free thinker.

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