The Need To Believe In Something
As I think about how we handle our civic and moral responsibilities, I have noticed that the need to believe in something has stripped many of us of our ability to be critical thinkers.
As humans, searching for hope or something better is intrinsic to our nature.
This coupled with the fact that very few of us are willing to stand up for something makes it easy to cede responsibility to false prophets.
Ones that promise us the world so we give them our votes.
Ones that promise a better tomorrow so we forget to do our due diligence.
It’s not just our votes or our tomorrows we give away though.
Many times it’s our morality, decency, equality, and the big picture we give away.
These things aren’t things we can pass the baton on to other people.
They are things we have to cultivate deep within ourselves, define and nourish.
These are things that hold the keys to our values and our identities.
So why do we freely give them up because we need to believe in something?
Believe in something but investigate what you believe.
Believe in something but don’t lose your ability to think in the process.
Believe in something but believe in yourself as well.
After all, it’s your world too.