It's very "in" to question everything. In fact, people take great pride in refusing to accept at face value what their parents, teachers, and religious leaders tell them. Now, there is definitely something admirable in this. Standing for truth in a sea of lies is difficult and respectable. Having the intellectual honesty to believe what you believe despite what you wish to believe is rare. There is a point, however, at which we must all confess our own limitations. No one has all the information. We are finite creatures with finite minds with which to process the finite information we do have. At some point we must come face-to-face with this finitude. Sometimes the truth is beyond an individual's ability to grasp it and there's nothing immoral or shameful in admitting that.
Such modesty is not nearly as popular as this "question everything" attitude. Much of the time the underlying issue is really just pride. People see themselves as seekers of the truth, but they're really just blinded by and to their own arrogance. They project a persona of intellectual honesty, but they really just refuse to be told anything that disagrees with their own preconceptions. Case in point: the Internet. There are so many people out there voicing opinions and spouting "facts" when they should be reading books and listening to their elders. Trust me, I've been there and done that (the former, not the latter).
I often wonder why my generation refuses to listen to our elders. Is it the Internet? Probably. Is it the timeless impertinence of youth? Of course. There's something more though--something deeper. It's called human depravity and it transcends my generation and this era. The age of information is merely exacerbating the pride problem that exists in the human heart. Access to information and the ease with which it can be disseminated encourage us to reject the advice and wisdom of those who have actually experienced real life.
My point is this. It's great to have a curious mind. It's great to thirst and search for truth. It's good to investigate things personally and to have well-informed opinions, but you can't call it truth-seeking if you think you already have all the truth. That's called having an ego.
That's just my two cents.
Such modesty is not nearly as popular as this "question everything" attitude. Much of the time the underlying issue is really just pride. People see themselves as seekers of the truth, but they're really just blinded by and to their own arrogance. They project a persona of intellectual honesty, but they really just refuse to be told anything that disagrees with their own preconceptions. Case in point: the Internet. There are so many people out there voicing opinions and spouting "facts" when they should be reading books and listening to their elders. Trust me, I've been there and done that (the former, not the latter).
I often wonder why my generation refuses to listen to our elders. Is it the Internet? Probably. Is it the timeless impertinence of youth? Of course. There's something more though--something deeper. It's called human depravity and it transcends my generation and this era. The age of information is merely exacerbating the pride problem that exists in the human heart. Access to information and the ease with which it can be disseminated encourage us to reject the advice and wisdom of those who have actually experienced real life.
My point is this. It's great to have a curious mind. It's great to thirst and search for truth. It's good to investigate things personally and to have well-informed opinions, but you can't call it truth-seeking if you think you already have all the truth. That's called having an ego.
That's just my two cents.
Wow, that is inspirational!
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