Lately, I’ve been thinking about the tension between critical thinking and the desire to be accepted and belong. Somehow my mind always seems to circle back to one particular issue: the price many are prepared to pay just to feel they belong. To them, avoiding standing alone at all costs often overrules the damaging impact social pressure can have on the ability to perceive clearly and think objectively. Neil Postman, one of the most eloquent media theorists and a cultural critics of the 20th century, claimed that every technological innovation has its own agenda. Once we adopt the new invention, we become (mostly without realizing it!) part of its manner of dictating the rules of reality. The same, I believe, holds true for any system, culture, tradition, community, country and policy, when embraced in a blind and desperate rush. In order to benefit from it, we’re required to comply with its postulates. In order to be accepted, we’re often asked to leave out most of what makes us
A fairy tale of fire and water.
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