The Skyliner

Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: Opinion

In a country founded on principles of intellectual independence, Americans sometimes seem to have a dearth of free thought.

Conservative or liberal, Baptist or Pentecostal, punk or prep - Americans as a whole are taking whatever authority figures shove down our throats. In this world of "what" and "how," we have forgotten how to ask the basic question of why.

Like the tirades I often hear from Stephen A. Smith, a sports columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer and basketball analyst for ESPN, he frequently speaks loudly and over enunciates nearly every word he says.

The casual observer may think he is passionate and knows what he is talking about, but someone who has done research will question his shoddy logic.

The sad thing is people like Smith exist in more important areas than professional sports, and they are not refuted nearly often enough.

These people have permeated nearly every institution of society. While authorities have been set up by God, churches and governments have become ripe with a self-righteous mentality, which says they do not have to answer to anyone.

They have lost touch with the fact that they are, in fact, supposed to be servants to those they oversee and are just as flawed as the rest of us. In their minds, they cannot be wrong. But if they happen to be wrong, and someone points that out, it becomes disrespectful.

This mentality irritated Martin Luther to nail the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther refused to fall prey to the intellectual Stockholm syndrome that leeched the desire to right the wrongs of society.

The actions of one man changed history (this school probably would not have existed without the Protestant Reformation).

Think of what would happen if everyone questioned the status quo and came up with new solutions. Maybe things would be accomplished instead of a lot of empty banter.

In the words of pop-punk legends Sum 41, we have enough "casualties of society" and "victims of conformity." Wake up the zombies, and think for yourself.

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