Seek Truth By Questioning Everything

I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice no matter who is for or against it. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever, and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” – Malcolm X

According to some philosophers, such as Socrates, wisdom begins in wonder, and depending on one’s religious beliefs, such as Christianity, it’s also thought to be acquired from a higher power. Regardless of where you think wisdom originates from and regardless of what background you stem from, one thing is for certain, wisdom is always coupled with a fair amount of self-education. It comes from a deep desire for wanting to know the truth. In today’s society copand societies from the past, the truth is many times concealed from the general public for various reasons, and in order to acquire it, one must go out and seek it on their own accord.

For example, in today’s climate, some of the atrocities that Blacks or African Americans have experienced in America in the post Civil War era are being brought to light. One such incident is known as the Tulsa Race Massacre. The event occurred on May 31, 1921, and according to History.com, it was one of the worst incidences of racial violence in U.S. history. Despite the fact that hundreds of people lost their lives on that day, and thousands more were left without homes, very few people know about it.

Here is the story. Over 10,000 Black people lived in a neighborhood called Greenwood. Although the neighborhood was within Tulsa, Oklahoma, it was utterly segregated in and of itself. Greenwood had a thriving business district, which was well known as the “Black Wall Street.” According to the Red Cross, after the mayhem and pandemonium that broke out in Greenwood over two days, approximately 1256 homes were burned to ruins and 256 more were looted. Many prosperous Black businesses were among buildings that were either entirely destroyed or utterly damaged during the incident. By anyone’s standards, it was a huge story. Yet, it has taken a century to make the “news.”

Recently, topics related to COVID-19 have also been sparking controversy. We are still very much in the middle of this pandemic—there is a lot we don’t know, and we have yet to see how many things will materialize when all is said and done. There has been much debate surrounding the issue of mask-wearing. From the start of the pandemic, inhabitants of the United States have received conflicting information, on what seems to be a daily basis, from both local officials and the leaders of our country. For example, initially, we were told countless times by many credible sources, such as doctors and surgeons, that masks don’t prevent the spread of the virus. Despite that fact, many local officials have created rules, regulations, and restrictions that they believe will keep the American people safe, going as far as to implement mandates to force Americans to adhere to laws and actions that are deemed unwarranted by certain medical professionals who’ve practiced in their industries for decades and, as such, are no novices. In fact, much of the information that the American people are presented with today seems to absolutely defy logic as it pertains to the virus.

Furthermore, in America, we are being told that to get back to some amount of normalcy, we must have a vaccine that some have speculated may entail being chipped, traced, and tracked, despite the fact that there is a high survival/recovery rate coupled with a consistent decline in mortality. This is causing a lot of suspicion from a wide variety of people on different ends of the spectrum. Additionally, there has also been a lot of information surrounding the issue of hospitals being incentivized monetarilyto inflate the mortality numbers that are linked to the coronavirus. Both liberal and conservative outlets have admitted to the fact that hospitals are being paid higher amounts once a patient is found to have the virus, and they are said to receive three times the amount, up to $39,000, if that patient is placed on a ventilator. Many people are finding themselves utterly baffled by many of the things that are materializing in today’s society as much of it fails to make any amount of sense at all. And while many do have an innate desire for the truth, the majority of individuals, for various reasons, tend to rely on mass media outlets alone to obtain their information for them. They do this instead of relying on themselves and conducting their own research. When you look for yourself, it allows for the beneficial placement of self into the alternate position of another.

Thus, to obtain wisdom, a person must be open to placing him or herself empathetically in another person’s shoes and needs to be able to find some balance in looking at an argument or problem from two sides of an equation. In our particular environment, this means opening one’s self up to dialogue that exists on both ends of the spectrum. In this day and age, it’s become a necessity (in order to maintain our sanity) to go to several sources to obtain news/information and to be informed. If we’re listening to one outlet or several that operate on one side of the equation, we are more than likely being misled or misinformed to an extent. It is, unfortunately, the case that many have found themselves in the position of having to seek out several sources on their own accord in order to obtain a better understanding of what’s really going on in society today. Additionally, it ought to also be noted that he or she will also need to be open to questioning everything that they’ve been taught to date, since not one of us has all of the answers, and sinceit is through questions that we are able to learn, develop, and grow.

We should be able to pull ourselves out of an equation in order to dissect a situation or argument at its core, without the inclusion of personal or various other ties that usually stem from years of conditioning/ indoctrination.  Always be open to what others have to say or share, as we never know when something may benefit us/ humanity in the long run. We are many times only able to learn new things when we are listening, and so we should never be so fixed in our own views and perspectives that we cut others off from the start. Be able to defend your views adequately, whatever they may be, for in the event that we are unable to—it often suggests a fair amount of weakness or lack of truth in our current stance.

What do you think about the current state of affairs as it pertains to our environment? Do you think that vaccines and mask mandatesare a necessity at this time? Do you rely wholeheartedly on one source, on one side of the spectrum to obtain your information or are you open to alternative perspectives? Do you have a deep desire for truth or wisdom, and if so, do you actively engage in doing things that will bring that about in your life? Feel free to respond below.