Learn to think for yourself

One of the biggest problems facing America today is that not enough people think for themselves. Something is said on social media and too many people accept it as truth. They then share it with their friends and followers, and soon it becomes viral without anyone ever checking to see if it true or not. It then becomes a "truth" simply because so many believe it to be so.

Too many people let the news media think for them as well. A person's favorite news reporter gives a story and people believe that it is true. They don't bother checking the story. They make decisions based on 30-second sound bites that come through their televisions.  Every news story is spun to reflect the bias of the news reporter and/or the ownership of the particular media. This is true whether you watch CNN, MSNBC, Fox, or any of the mainstream media.

Not only do they spin the news to fit their personal biases, they determine which stories you will be allowed to hear. In the 21st century the media doesn't report the news; they make the news. Out of the thousands of things they could report on each day, they select a handful of stories to influence your opinion on matters they consider important. I would encourage anyone to read Breaking The News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy by James Fallows. A the time he wrote this book he was the editor of U. S. News and World Report. As a journalist, he understood how the system worked, and he was convinced today's news reporters do not seek to inform the public as much as they want to influence the public to their point of view. I found the book explained exactly why the public today mistrusts the news media so much. I can tell you that I used to watch a lot of news programs, but today I watch very little, and I question much of what is reported.

Being able to think for yourself is especially important as we continue into this election cycle. We will hear every night from the political pundits who will tell us that one candidate or another is leading in the polls or that one candidate cannot possibly win the election. As they repeat their mantra over and over some people will assume it's true. Don't be so sure. Fallows was especially critical of these political reporters. He said they can be consistently wrong and never held accountable. As an example he pointed to the many political reporters who kept saying that Bill Clinton's campaign was finished and he could not win the election. Of course, he did. The same thing happened in the last election as many of the same pundits who reported the demise of Clinton's campaign kept insisting that Trump could not possibly win the past election. Fallows writes, "For pundits there is no financial or professional penalty for being consistently wrong."

Of course, politics is not the only area in which you need to think for yourself. In many areas of life the majority is often wrong. People go into debt thinking this is the only way they can get the things they want without ever stopping to think that debt will prevent them from financial independence. Just because your broke brother-in-law buys a new car every five years and finances it for seven years doesn't mean that's the smart thing to do.

Many people reject Christianity and biblical teaching without ever studying it themselves. Some professor told them the Bible was full of myths so they go around telling others the Bible is full of myths without ever taking the time to determine if that's true. Someone else tells them there is no God so they believe there is no God without studying the matter for themselves.

I could continue to list other areas in our lives we need to learn to think for ourselves: marriage, the raise we raise our children, career choices, etc. Remember, it's your life. No one else can live it for you nor should you let anyone tell you how to live it or how to think about the things that are most important to a successful life. Learn to think for yourself and you will find your life will become much more rewarding.