To start, the madness of not thinking is what has gotten us where we are today. We let others think for us and damn those who think differently. If there is a problem, we all expect someone else to think of a solution since we wouldn't have the power to enact it which means only those ideas that have the power behind them will be adopted by the people even if they are not the best ideas, so long as it solves the problem it is accepted. If another idea comes along that is better than the old one, it doesn't matter as long as the old idea works and no one has the power to force adoption of the better solution. Even though this is our behaviour everyone still thinks and says "wouldn't it be better if..." but no one does anything about it since the knowledge necessary to make the idea reality is kept locked up tight by the powers that be. In essence, we live in a technocracy where knowledge isn't given unless it is earned, but deep down we all know that knowledge is something that is useless unless shared. Sure it is possible to profit from knowledge that no one else is aware of, but that is only getting a bigger slice of a much smaller pie: it looks bigger compared to everyone else's piece, but that's just the illusion of having more.
Only by sharing what we learn can we see the flaws in our thinking or grasp a greater understanding of the important elements of a thought. Either through comments, criticism, or further explanation we can expand on an idea and bring it to the point where all good thoughts go: self-sustaining thought. An idea that doesn't require power to force its adoption because the weight of the thought itself gives it it's own power, an idea on that level is adopted naturally as people innately recognize it as true. These types of thoughts do not come from one person, they come from everyone and anyone, having been shaped and molded over many years through many minds, translated and transliterated as they evolve into a common belief that is only recognized when the right wording is realized. If we choose to not share our thoughts, we close ourselves off as a vector for these great ideas, slowing its spread and growth and eventual culmination. Worst off is if we believe that these ideas are ours. No thought is ours alone, trying to own a thought hurts everyone as those great thoughts will be presented as complete and attributed to an individual when there can still be improvement and evolution.
Having a responsibility to both think and share reminds us that we also have the duty to listen. Without an open mind we cannot hear the good ideas nor be warned of the bad, without new input we cannot shape anything new, the best we can hope for is to pass along something good without ruining it for others. One person may have that piece of knowledge that has to be added to one of those great thoughts to change it so that the next person in line will be able to understand it in the way that will reach others, but if that one person won't listen then we will wait even longer for sanity to come to this world. When I say listen, I mean listen. To everyone, to see what they have to say that is new, what secret understanding they might have as a gift for the world. If you listen just to the "smart" people than you will have created a ghetto of the mind, where your thoughts are shaped by your opinions and not by the logic of the thoughts you hold opinions on. If you listen to just the "knowledgeable" then you can never learn anything new, everything they know is already known. That is not to say either should be dismissed, as they almost invariably know something that you don't. And just as bad as it is to only listen to the "best and brightest" it is horrible to not listen to "evil". Without an understanding of the worst of the worst, how can you see flaws? Those are necessary in order to fight it, as without hearing a wrong idea you will never know what is wrong with it. Many people who don't think will regurgitate wrongness without any understanding, the choice is ours whether we will close our minds to it and them, or learn what they are saying so that we can give them an answer that forces them to think about their position. Only by forcing those who don't think to do so can we save them and ourselves.
The duty to think, share, and listen all means one thing: we need to communicate with each other. Part of that is knowing each others language, not just the words that form sentence but the underlying meanings that vary from city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood. Unless we can speak in words that have meaning to the person we're speaking to, we are not expressing ourselves and they will not listen, if they do not listen than we are speaking for nothing simply because we choose not to learn enough of someone to share our thoughts in a way they can understand. My next post will be regarding The Evil of Space Travel.
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