The Right to Question without Fear

To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.  -Voltaire

 

If we are not moving forward to understand the environment we live in, can the world sustain itself for much longer without knowing the real truths.

There are so many created truths about our society that each and every one of us just takes for granted because we have been told to do so.  We do this instead of thinking for ourselves, asking questions, and possessing a real desire for not just an answer, but the actual truth; not someone else created truth.  However, in today’s society it seems nobody wants to ask, but we all pretend we know.

People need to start asking the important questions though, which have a direct impact on our wellbeing, our way of thinking and behaving, and the way we treat each other.  The world has been constructed in a way in which society does not question anyone with authority.  Centuries ago people would do whatever the King and Queen decreed upon them.  The church also put forth a list of bylaws their congregations could do and could not do.  Then of course, priests and teachers were to be obeyed without question.  And for parents, they were to be obeyed until their very last dying wish without hesitation.  And all this was to be done without question, even if the people in authority were cruel and dishonest.

 

We have been conditioned to be fearful of asking questions of the people with some sort of power or status, such as our bosses, religious leaders, politicians, parents or anyone who has some sense of control over our emotional, personal, professional or financial wellbeing.  And in many cases, especially in religion and government, even when the questions are asked, the answers that are normally given seem based just on one’s own belief and then spread throughout the universe as if it is everyone else’s opinion.

However, in most cases people in power like the sense of fear to exist.  It keeps the people below them in a state of passivity and from stirring the pot.  And because of that, the fear itself needs to also be addressed and answered to.  And it’s not about condemning society, but changing society so that more good and kindness can occur.  We can’t change the past but we can change the present and the future.

Fear is the key to obedience – Reverend Richard Skaff