The Long-Forgotten Art of Thinking

The current year is 2016. It's been one hundred and twenty-three years since Charles Edgar Duryea and his brother Frank built and tested the first gasoline-powered automobile. While cars have surely made leaps and bounds during the last century, they still utilize a four-wheel system to travel on ground. More importantly, they're still running on oil as fuel.

It's been over 60 years since commercial, turbofan (jet engine) airliners were introduced for commercial use, and still today we see ourselves utilizing the same technology which is severely outdated, and again, uses oil for fuel.

World War 1 was initiated by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 - over 102 years ago. Since then, there have been countless millions murdered and genocided as a direct result of international warfare.

79 years ago, as a part of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, Cannabis was outlawed. Today, millions of Americans alone and hundreds of millions around the globe are fighting for the ability to utilize this plant for medical relief. It is estimated that over one billion people worldwide - roughly one-seventh of the global population - use this plant both medically and recreationally. Today, it remains widely illegal.

After decades of scientific study and testing, LSD research came to a rather abrupt halt by about 1980. Publications such as both Time and Life magazines had written positively about the drug in the past. Over 35 years later, we're finally beginning to see a push towards deeper research of psilocybin and LSD for medical and psychological applications. However, we're a far cry from utilizing either of the substances for practical applications in life.

In 1913, over one hundred and three years ago, the Federal Government, under President Woodrow Wilson enacted The Federal Reserve System. A fiat system of banking, it is based on perpetual debt. It wasn't until shortly after that Wilson had realized and announced (or at least publically announced) the following in his book The New Freedom:

"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men ... [W]e have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world—no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men."

In the same book, President Wilson also said..

"Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it."

You might be asking yourself what any of this has to do with the title of my story, The Long-Forgotten Art of Thinking. The sad truth is it has everything to do with it.

When you examine the examples I've given above, you might ask yourself what were we thinking, or "what were they thinking?". On the contrary, you might see nothing alarming about any of this. Your perspective of what I've written above depends greatly your ability to evaluate, reason, and think.

We're suffering from an immense problem. It is global in scale, although it varies in its style from country to country and even region to region.. It's present in schools, homes, playgrounds, courthouses, parks, churches, and even in the bedroom.

It has taken complete control of our ability to think freely and has replaced our drive to pursue our deepest and most meaningful desires. Instead of moving forward as a human race, instead of creating true progress on a planetary scale, this sick and twisted perpetrator has left us spinning our tires in the mud without the least chance for traction. This culprit is culture.

When I speak of culture, you might become confused or be in disagreement. When we speak of travel to foreign countries we often talk of their culture. We love learning of different cultures and we love their traditions - it's what makes us all unique.... Right? Well, not really.

Toxic Culture

Surely, you can travel to Mexico or Thailand or Russia or deep into the Amazon Basin and experience a multitude of cultures that are totally foreign to your own. However, the way of life that might seem so different and foreign is based on the same rules as any other culture in the world. Literally, culture is a set of rules.

As special and important as culture may seem, culture itself is not responsible for the beautifully and brightly woven fabrics of the Maya people in Southern Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. What culture is responsible for, however, is teaching the average Mexican that the Maya are a poor, inept, and sad class of people who are out of touch with modern living and have nothing to offer society aside from woven goods and an interesting look at what it's like to be dirt fucking poor.

In addition to government, education, religion and other control mechanisms used to persuade the direction of the future generations, culture is the final nail in the coffin. It is the ribbon wrapped around the nuclear family's package, the white picket fence around the perfect little house on the prarie. Culture is the fine toothed comb of a radically engineered society.

Culture is what trains you that success is a purely financial and material endeavor. Culture is what teaches us that it's okay to be different, yet frowns upon those who are actually different. Culture is what decides who is popular, who makes the choices that dictate our lives, and what is "okay" versus what is not okay or acceptable. Culture creates labels, conflict, hurt, injustice, murder, and ignorance. It is a pre-determined style of thought and living that has been systematically handed down, beginning with education and continuing in the social world, the workplace, and throughout our lives.

Culture is severely limiting. If culture can be defined as the combination of government, education, religion and popular hobbies, than it's easy to say that western culture is extremely toxic. If our goal is to improve as a civilization, our culture is the main factor inhibiting that from happening.

We are born and raised to have a one-way, one-track mind. We are born into a society so deplete of critical thought, that to raise a legitimate and deep question causes terrible confusion and even discomfort in most company. Instead of conversing the unknown, our culture has taught us that the answers are already out there, and that everything important has already been figured out. Science, medicine, space travel, love, child-bearing, economics, morality - it's all been figured out for us..... Or so we're told.

We're taught as if there's really nothing left to explore, nothing left to experience. The answers are out there, and only a fool would question the credibility of the answers. Apparently, western culture has no room for improvement because we already have the most effective system imaginable. Doubt it? "Well, then maybe you should go live in a third-world country and tell me how you like it.". <--- That's a common one that non-thinkers regurgitate from their list of useless ideas handed down by culture, and a perfect example of why the art of thinking is basically a dead one.

Again, we're taught to believe that everything has already been figured out for us. There are teams of scientists and politicians working feverishly to make sure we're operating as smoothly as possible. Everything's good. As individuals, all we need to do is be successful - and that requires 30+ years of debt slavery and hard work, beginning the day we graduate from high school or college. Play by the rules, bow to authority, work as hard as possible, and hopefully by the time you can afford to retire, you'll be in good enough health to enjoy the last miserable 15 years of your life "living it up".

Culture has taught us to buy the insurance policy rather than live our life. Culture wants you to take the safe route - get educated and "do your part" in society to make the world a better place. Culture doesn't really favor people who push the envelope or bring radically forward-thinking ideas to the table. Culture has no room for people interested in questioning our existence or origins, because the scientists have already done all that - it's a waste of time. The only time well spent is time spent on hard work to secure material wealth.

Children are taught to accept answers instead of question what they don't understand. Adults are taught to obey authority rather than act on morality and conscience.

When I was 10 or 11 years old, the school convinced my parents to get me to see a doctor. I was disruptive in class because I would question things, often pointing out inconsistencies in history class and similar events, or seemingly ridiculous rules that I was curious about. If I wasn't engaged in real learning or something that interested me, my mind wandered and I'd sometimes get antsy and frustrated. The doctors said I had ADHD, and I needed Ritalin. So Ritalin happened and it was a miracle. My teachers didn't have to worry about me raising any uncomfortable questions, or questioning why I had to walk directly on the white line while traveling down the hallway instead of 2 feet to the side. I had become an order-follower.

Luckily, my dad realized within a year that I had become a mere shadow of myself - I was an 11 year-old zombified drug addict with perfect behavior - and so he pulled me off the medication. To this day, I still thank him for realizing that and going strongly against my mother's wishes (to the point where I had to live with my dad because "mom couldn't handle me without Ritalin"....) to take me off that shit. After a few days of being dope-sick from Ritalin withdrawals, I finally had my mind back and I was myself again... even if I didn't know it at the time.

The point is, people, that there is a serious lack of ideas in this world. REAL ideas. Ideas that can change history, change the future, and change the way we perceive ourselves and one another. We are no longer thinkers, we are only doers - and the worst part is that we're doing what others tell us to do. We're no longer sailing the 7 seas or masquerading through uncharted territory in search of answers. We're waking up, hopping on the culture train, riding it all fucking day, and then going to sleep only to repeat it again tomorrow. Somehow, we consider it to be freedom. We think we're smart. We're voting for politicians to rule us because apparently we cannot handle any real responsibility - yet we claim to be responsible adults at the same time. It's really that bad.

Do you think? Does society think? Let's talk about what society thinks for a second.

Society thinks that drugs are bad because altered states of consciousness are dangerous. Society thinks that doctors know best, because without their synthesized medicine we would die. Society thinks that mainstream science is the only valid science, because only the most popular theories and ideas can hold merit. Society believes that we must have an offensive military, because without it we'd be killed by those who hate us for our freedom. Society believes that it's unhealthy to question authority, because authority goes out of its way to ensure our safety. Society believes that it's best to poison children with chemicals and medications because they are endorsed by science, and science is science is science, and only popular science should be obeyed and entertained. Society believes that people who don't speak english or live in a highly-developed country are dumber, less-capable, second-class citizens of the world. Society believes in illegal taxes for no other reason than the rest of society is paying them. Society thinks it's so smart, yet willingly admits itself to be so recklessly childish that it requires rulers to impose laws, licenses, restrictions and registries for literally every single aspect of our lives.

Our current society is nothing more than a sea of adult children. These children have left the home, and ventured out into the great world of "responsibility". Sadly, the only responsibility they have is to work, get paid, and pay their bills. That's it. They can roam freely within the lower 50, but if they want to visit a foreign land, they need mommy & daddy to sign a permission slip (passport). They live in houses they believe to be their own, but they're still paying mommy & daddy a tax each year to have that house on the land within a certain government's borders. They believe that without paying that tax, their home is more susceptible to fire, robbery, and terrorism because mommy & daddy told them so. This is their life, living "freely" and "being responsible" own their own accord - yet somehow 100% within the guidelines and rules set forth by various institutions (mommy & daddy) perpetuating this toxic culture.

Society has forgotten the art of thinking. I believe that thinkers, even when allowed to roam free, are few and far between. In today's tightly controlled world, Real thinkers are maybe 1 in 10,000. Maybe less. It's crucial, to our species, that we create and promote and encourage real thought.

We cannot move forward in a humanitarian fashion when a plant is barred from use. We cannot move forward technologically when oil has a monopoly on all forms of transportation. We cannot move forward mentally and psychologically until education as we know it is wiped out and replaced. Culture is a program, no different than the operating system of a computer. We need a new one, one that is more flexible and allows for its own customization and growth.

Thinking is an art form, and it has been forgotten. We need to revive the human mind if we hope to see humanity evolve.

To think is to be free. Free from the bullshit ideas of know-nothing followers and free from the rules they so willingly accept. Thinking offers freedom. Thinking is uncensored, raw, and whatever you want it to be. Thinking is the cure for society's woes, the cure for culture, and for the current state of this planet. Thinking is the only way to bring back new ideas and implement them.

Thinking is the only true path to real success, because without thinking you cannot formulate your own plan; and without having a plan, you're bound to become a part of someone else's plan.