to think or not to think

http://www.tpuc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=462&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=30#p2703


to be given "beliefs" is to be either:

indoctrinated (what is done to children who have not established their own personal belief system)
brainwashed (when the same thing is done to adults who already have established beliefs)

this is why the modern education system fails. it is designed to prevent students from learning. our "education" is an attempt to prevent thought from happening. all information is pre-digested and downloaded, then regurgitated at will (such as when they are filling in little circles on those tests).

is this how you learn, how you think? are those thoughts your own, or are they straight from someone else, some authority (the Bible says... or as they say nowadays, my guru said...) instead of from that thinking part within you? i learn through experience, through my subjective perceptions of such personal experiences. anyone can memorize the times tables, but in order to multiply you must know how it works.

we are not machines, though we can choose to operate as such. that is our choice. to think or not to think. it's up to you. the abusive authority, the belief in groupthink, would threaten you with horrible consequences should you choose to think for yourself, but to allow the group or an authority to think for you is always your decision.