In my opinion, first of all, the real reason people questioned your thoughts it's because they haven't read, seen, heard or experienced life extensively enough to pinpoint the exact source. Secondly, they are surprised by your ability to form independent thoughts at all. Thirdly, they are not open-minded enough to even consider your independent thoughts as a form of liberation. This is how organizations control people. By making them study endlessly, a phenomenon known as paper chasing, just to qualify for a certain profession thus unable to formulate independent thoughts. I was like this. Stuck in the system for years only to realize my ignorance.
I can't help but to quote you a beautiful passage because I'm not creative enough to express myself in a much better way than this,
“Because the world is so corrupted, misspoken, unstable, exaggerated and unfair, one should trust only what one can experience with one's own senses, and THIS makes the senses stronger in Italy than anywhere in Europe. This is why, Barzini says, Italians will tolerate hideously incompetent generals, presidents, tyrants, professors, bureaucrats, journalists and captain of industry, but will never tolerate incompetent opera singers, conductors, ballerinas, courtesans, actors, film directors, cooks, tailors... In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted. Only artistic excellence is incorruptible. Pleasure cannot be bargained down. And sometimes the meal is the only currency that is real.”
by Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
Nice quote ! I didn't know it, thanks for the discovery. It perfectly sums up what I tried to say, but I'm no writer. For the first part of your comment, I remember a quote (I couldn't find the source on Google) : "Le premier pas vers l'intelligence est de reconnaître son ignorance." - The first step towards intelligence is to recognize your own ignorance.
I agree with you, studies are there to restrain you from having your own thoughts when it should be the contrary. But it has the advantage, for some people, to sharpen curiosity and learn things about a lot of different subjects. Not making studies isn't synonym of independent thoughts either. Television is there for the people who weren't made for the slave factory (school - studies).
The system has it all figured out, and even in the search of truth, they always put a few seeds to peck for wannabe independent thinkers (let's call them conspiracy theorists) for even controlling the people who think they're evading the Thought Police.
You're most welcome! This particular book, "Eat Pray Love" is for women daydreaming about travelling like me. Therefore, most guys won't notice it. Guys are generally into sci-fi, thriller or extreme adventure genre.
Thank you for the quote in French!
I couldn't agree more with you. The conversation about not conforming is not the same as the conversation about not condoning. Both are separate issues that needs to be tackle differently.
I'm more of a history essays kind of a guy. Allows me to travel in space and time. Pure fiction doesn't attract me (scientific background clinging to me), that's why I found my happiness in reading history, as it's fiction presented as facts. Anyway, I looked at that book, and it's not really for me, but that doesn't take away the fact that her quote was really clever.