Think. Or lose all control

"A man who does not think for himself does not think at all." -Oscar Wilde

It's interesting. No, it’s really interesting. The best, probably most effective and productive thing – as a people – is simple. Probably too simple for it to even work. However, I contend that it is this simple task/activity/process that could change the landscape and workings of, well, the world.

Thinking. And subsequently talking.

If everyone around the world, and especially so in the apathetic West, thought everything over and were avid critical thinkers the world would be a different, yet vastly better place. Creating dialogue on important worldly subject matters – such as: torture, medical care, AIDS – is the first step in curing ignorance and these aforementioned problems.

I’m not arguing that people don’t think; I’m sure the common man thinks about his lunch, that new Mercedes, or that good looking blonde in the next office on a day-to-day basis. But to think critically about world issues, such as: war, poverty, corruption, governments, famine, cover-ups, the media, the people which surround you, the people that you will never meet, death, religion, the past, future, the cuteness of babies... inter alia. It’s the use of one’s noggin to dig deeper in a world clouded with so much conspiracy, scandal, and gratuitous death. Something that open dialogue can help impede.

The problem is that people are constantly entertained. They have the latest iPod or gizmo and are constantly in a pursuit of materialistic things that we never stop and question the world around us. Why is there a terribly unpopular war in Iraq? Is Osama bin Laden really to blame for 9/11? Why is there such a devastating imbalance between the rich and the poor?

The biggest tools that a government can hold over the people are 1) ignorance, and 2) and the prohibition of free speech. By hindering thoughts and discussions on said thoughts, you not only thwart the people, but their ways of life, free speech, opposing sentiments and so on and so forth.

It is apparent to see where the world has been heading within the last few decades. It’s becoming a world that is steered by only a number of powerful men; a world that is full of fear mongering; a world that keeps its people in the literal and proverbial dark; a world split into polarities: the haves and the have-nots; a world that is utterly selfish.

And it’s simple, a way for the people to counter these growing trends is to think about, discuss, and refute them on a mass level. To do this would see a massive positive change in the future on an unparalleled scale.

However, it is obvious that thinking about these issues is not always the "easiest" or "most comforting," but then again, neither are the deaths of millions of children annually due to famine or a "War on Terror," which is the biggest farce going (well, maybe next to Scientology) as an umbrella term for anything anti-American.

It's time for that renaissance of thought that is much needed. During those hours of mindless television watching, self-medication, and insistent distractions, the general public needs to stop and think. To seriously stop and think and question not only their surroundings in the micro, but in the macro – the world at large.

We need to question a friend on their views of the war in Iraq. Question someone's position on waterboarding. Make a preposterous claim in class, next to the water cooler, to a taxi driver and discuss.

Because, really, why not? All we have to lose is our freedom of speech and thought.