I have always liked the title of “free thinker” which is combined with notions of freedom, culture, intelligence and self-affirmation. A little slowed down by COVID-19 these days, I find myself trying to think about several subjects that concern me, I have the time and the desire, but it is not going as well as I would like. I realize that this fundamental function of the human being is slow to come into play or is simply fading in favor of devices or viruses that constantly call on us, both day and night.
I come to wonder if we are letting Thought die out altogether? Lots of clues and indicators lead us to believe that this could be so!
The faculty of thinking is maintained continuously and it helps to guide us better, to make us make the best decisions, to let us see a future that matches our aspirations and even to make us take care of our loved ones. The famous phrase “I’m thinking of you”, alone, means that I am concerned about the well-being of this person, that I love them even from a distance, that I sympathize with their suffering, etc. A large part of our critical thinking comes from our ability to think and our power of analysis to make the right decisions and actions to live better.
Now we have the impression, these days (and this goes well beyond COVID-19), that we are trying by all means to think for ourselves or even to replace our thinking. Our brain is unique, irreplaceable and non-replicable. However, eye-catching advertisements hammer home the best choices to make and try to thwart our own thinking. Whether it is for the purchase of a car or a device, for our food choices or our lifestyle habits, we are all at the mercy of influences that try to distance us from our thinking about our own good.
The mainstream media never ceases to disrupt our thinking through a multitude of opinion people, columnists, ordinary citizens or experts who attempt to format our vacillating thinking. We have the impression that they all want to think for us or format our thinking for our own good. The power of influence of these false thinkers even succeeds in changing government priorities or even in condemning false culprits in the public square.
These ominous influencers work, consciously or not, to prevent us from thinking for ourselves.
At my age, we are a little more vigilant about this kind of influence and we try not to believe anyone or at least to form our own opinion. Young people these days are experiencing great upheavals, and great challenges await them. They are looking for their own identities, they have to build the world of tomorrow, they must revisit the values and even the foundations of our society. We must therefore let them think without undue influence. Young people are capable of thinking for themselves very early on, and this is what we must preserve at all costs as a society and responsible adults.