Think for yourself

       To find yourself think for yourself.

                                            -Socrates

   What did he mean?

   It means you will never be who you are until you can independently think for yourself and make your own views on life and the world no matter what anyone else says or does. When you accept everything you're told without question, you open the door to being manipulated. I was inspired to write this when I saw a black woman on the bus today, wearing a Mitt Romney 2012 T shirt. I had to do a double-take. It was the strangest thing. She was obviously spoon-fed some bullshit, some lies about how Mitt Romney cares about black people. I wanted to tell her to do some research. I would told her to look into the statements made by others. I was also inspired when a friend of mine in Seattle told me yesterday that he saw a gay couple with wedding bands, holding hands while wearing Romney 2012 Tshirts. Unless they've been living under a rock, everyone knows that Romney feels they don't have the right to marry. It's shocking to me that people don't think for themselves.  Do some research, folks!

 You'll be amazed at how many times you'll find lots of evidence to contradict the statements of others. Yet, these people spout this erroneous information and never question the accuracy or truth of what they're saying. Use Google or  go to the library, and search for information to prove or disprove the statements made. Remember where you get the "evidence" from. Be aware that, just because you saw it in a book or on the internet, that alone does not make it the truth. Once you've found evidence, one way or the other, you can speak up about it. "Yes, you know after we talked last time, I was so interested that I looked that up. That's amazing, isn't it, hard to believe, but true!" Or conversely, you can say, "I know that sounds amazing, and I hate to burst the bubble because it's fun to believe that could be true, but I looked it up, and it looks like it isn't true. I feel bad to be the bearer of bad news, but I just don't think that's true. You can look at ____________ (wherever you found your disproving evidence) and see for yourself."

 Not only will some people be very perturbed by your refusal to take their statements at face value, but you will also learn to question your own assumptions, and that can make you feel lost and confused, like walking into a dark room. It takes courage to face uncertainty.