I Dare You

I dare you to think for yourself. It sounds simple, I know, but who among us can boast that he has done it? Who has actually done the research himself into the perplexing questions of our day, discovered the truth and had the courage to believe what he discovered? It's too easy to just believe what we are told, since we are told it so many times, from so many sources.

It begins when we read our first text book. These books are written by a select few individuals who have been appointed and chosen to summarize the original sources for the benefit of the student. Supposedly this saves many hours of time in research and discovery. The student simply reads the conclusions and is satisfied that he has a knowledge in that field. It was only when I began to read sources of knowledge for myself that I realized that the summaries I was reading were actually only politically correct interpretations of the actual facts. As times have changed so have the interpretations, so that now when I read, say, a history text, it is vastly different from the one I read when I was a child.

History texts are one example of this principle, but the same holds true in other fields. For example, the interpretation of scientific data concerning the origin of the universe, the origin of life and the nature of that life is in a constant state of flux. From year to year one can find widely varying differences in the current theories, current interpretations and currently accepted 'facts'. The interpretations of biology, social sciences, psychology, health science, history, government and even English literature are changing so often today that one hardly knows where to stand from one day to the next, much less from one generation to the next.

A big problem arises then, when parents attempt to teach and help their children. They may have been taught and believed in a certain concept when they were young, but when they try to teach it to their children or even to help the child with their school work the parents can easily be made to look ridiculous in the eyes of the child and his teacher for holding to 'outmoded' beliefs or views. When that happens there is a subtle shift in allegiance from parents and tradition to teachers and textbooks.

There is nothing in the world like first hand information. When I read about the holocaust I do not go to a textbook to read someone else's opinion about what he thinks has happened based on what HE has read. I go to the source. I read first hand accounts of people who were there. They are not interpreting the situation for me, they are simply recounting their experience and I am free to interpret it according to my own values and understanding.

The other day I read a news broadcast stating that the action in Lybia was considered as a controlled peacekeeping mission, not a war. However, in reading first hand accounts of what is actually happening, I have decided that it is actually war. Those who say it is not war want me to think this so I will accept their actions as necessary and not think of the ramifications this action might have on our own country or the one we happen to be bombing, not to mention thinking of my nieces and nephews in the military who might be risking life and limb for such a venture, and further, the implications this might have for our future if war can be waged without the consent of the Congress, so long as you do not call it war.

All of this and more are the reasons why textbooks, news broadcasts and other forms of controlled media are not the best places to shop for information or interpretation. Going to the source might be harder and less predictable, but if it prevents me from making grave mistakes, I am content. I dare you to go to the source, to think for yourself and to find your own way in this maze of information and interpretation. I just dare you to think for yourself. Joan of Arc was one girl who thought for herself, made a difference and saved her country. Maybe one of us could do something like that. Or we can just listen to the news.