On The Necessity Of Thought
This is an excerpt. The full commentary can be accessed by the link above, or at straightlinelogic.com.
Recently a ferry capsized and sank off the coast of South Korea. Almost 250 of the passengers have been confirmed or are presumed dead. As the ferry started to sink, passengers—who had donned life vests—were told over loudspeakers to return to their cabins and wait for further instructions. Most of those who disregarded those instructions and jumped into the water were rescued; most of those who went to their cabins were not. The dead undoubtedly thought the crew was trying to protect them, but that apparently was not its first concern. A passenger, not the crew, was the source of the initial distress call and 22 of 29 crew members survived the disaster, including the captain.
People do not think for themselves because thought is work, and it separates the thinker from the crowd. Those who jumped from the ferry performed their own assessment of the situation: while the icy ocean waters presented risks, when the ferry sank their cabins would be coffins. They broke ranks with the dutifully obedient and jumped. Always we are confronted by that simple choice: to think or not to think.
Recently a ferry capsized and sank off the coast of South Korea. Almost 250 of the passengers have been confirmed or are presumed dead. As the ferry started to sink, passengers—who had donned life vests—were told over loudspeakers to return to their cabins and wait for further instructions. Most of those who disregarded those instructions and jumped into the water were rescued; most of those who went to their cabins were not. The dead undoubtedly thought the crew was trying to protect them, but that apparently was not its first concern. A passenger, not the crew, was the source of the initial distress call and 22 of 29 crew members survived the disaster, including the captain.
People do not think for themselves because thought is work, and it separates the thinker from the crowd. Those who jumped from the ferry performed their own assessment of the situation: while the icy ocean waters presented risks, when the ferry sank their cabins would be coffins. They broke ranks with the dutifully obedient and jumped. Always we are confronted by that simple choice: to think or not to think.
The Slings and Arrows of unanswered questions
Or to take Arms against a Sea of unequal outcomes,
And by voting Democratic end them? To die, to think--No more, and by a ballot, to say we end
The Envy, and the thousand Idiotic ideas our minds are heir to?
I could see how one could interpret my comment that way. I could have been more clear. I was referring to those who followed the orders by the crew to stay put in their cabins.
Respectfully,
O.A.
As always, look forward to your posts and comments. Pax Tecum!
Ddealledig.
Vires acquirit eundo.
Carpe diem!
O.A.
Thinking, something I was always expected to do, even if it was not popular. Perhaps, attending 12 schools in multiple states as a child, made standing out no big deal. However, I am still amazed at the adults and youth who avoid thinking, waiting for someone to tell them what to think, to give them life's talking points. I encountered a philosophy student, so fearful of thinking, or even knowing he had choices of what to think, that it drove him to an in-class anxiety attack, requiring paramedics! This is what our public school system has wrought, and finds laudable.
(1) Trust the ship and trust the skipper.
(2) If you cannot do that, and can do a better job than the skipper, MUTINY.
(3) If you cannot do (1) or (2) then jump overboard.
Some people jump from terror, rather than from thinking. Recently someone jumped off a commercial camel ride at a fair. She felt the camel was tipping too far and was going to fall down. (Camels do not usually fall down, but do occasionally lean to one side.) She jumped, and put out her arm to break her fall. She broke her arm. Moral: don't jump without thinking.
If I have done my job as Captain (I know this is veeeerrry subjective)
The first that can be lost is the Captain. (Not voluntary exodus)
Next, the cargo....then the passengers....the crew.
The vessle's integrity is foremost.
This "Captain"..I use the term loosely, has committed Homicide.
The instruction to go below, to cabins, is the definitive.
Since my son was about 4 if you asked him what the most important thing in the world is he'll say, "thinking".