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.
Ddealledig.
Vires acquirit eundo.
Carpe diem!
O.A.
As always, look forward to your posts and comments. Pax Tecum!
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.
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.
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?
Since my son was about 4 if you asked him what the most important thing in the world is he'll say, "thinking".