by David LeMieux
This title of this post is "Sheep," but it could also be "The dangers of almost thinking for yourself."
As I am sure every writer does, I hope that what I am about to write will be understood for what it is. I understand more now what they mean in the Book of Mormon whenever they say that they are weak in their writing abilities. They have an important message to share and they aren't sure that they will be able to explain it clearly and understandably. I am not the greatest writer in the world, nor am I the best maker of sentences and shaper of words (and my message isn't that important). That said, let me get to my point: I think that it can be dangerous to get caught up in trying to think for yourself and be independent.
Why? You ask. Because I feel that the majority of people that try and "think for themselves" do so irresponsibly. Instead of truly thinking for themselves they pretend to think for themselves while still holding fast to a less main-stream set of ideals.
Let us take for example, "Goths." Now, I do not pretend to know what goes through the mind of a "goth," but they do seem to be individuals out to prove that they are free thinking and independent. They manifest this independence by doing what the other goths do. Now, I do not doubt that there are many people that like to be "goth" and truly love the lifestyle. This article/rant/thought isn't about lifestyle, it is about thinking for yourself.
Sometimes the person that thinks for his or her self is going to agree with the majority, other times they wont. Unfortunately, society doesn't really allow for this type of person. You are either part of a minority or part of the majority. It is hard to be in the middle. If you are not "minority" enough, those in the minority label you as a poser, a wanna be, or just a plain loser. If you aren't "majority" enough, people think you are weird, anti-social, clickish, and a loser.
What I am trying to say is, it shouldn't matter. Who cares if everyone thinks you are a loser, you should be comfortable enough with yourself to think out loud without fearing what others will say and think.
The other unfortunate side effect of thinking for yourself is that what you say, do, and think is left up to the interpretation of others. Again, this shouldn't matter, but it can become frustrating when your ideas are changed in to something they aren't. In that case, you don't fear what others have said but instead you are upset that they are stealing your voice and changing your opinion on your behalf. Like being quoted out of context.
So, to all that strive to be independent thinkers, please do so responsibly.
I admit that this is an incomplete thought, but it is one I wanted to share.