Sunday Strip - To the Rebels of the World
The third way is to examine the matter for oneself
There are three ways of arriving at an opinion on any subject. The first is to believe what one is told; the second is to disbelieve it; and the third is to examine the matter for oneself. The overwhelming majority of mankind practice the first method; of the remainder, the overwhelming majority practice the second; only an infinitesimal remnant practice the third.
To believe what one is told is the right method for most people in regard to most questions. I believe there is a place called Vladivostok because the atlas says so and because I have met apparently veracious people who assert that they have been there. But if I were engaged in making a survey of eastern Siberia for the Soviet Government, I should have to verify the existence of Vladivostok for myself. Believing what one is told is proper whenever there is a consensus except in matters on which one is a professional expert. In many of the most important questions there is a local but not a world-wide consensus.
To disbelieve what one is told is the method of the rebel and as a general practice has nothing to recommend it. Wisdom is not achieved by refusing to believe that 2 and 2 make 4, or that there is such a place as Vladivostok. When the authorities are unanimous, they are usually right; when they are not, the plain man does well to suspend judgement. A general habit of intellectual rebellion is more foolish than a general habit of intellectual acquiescence, and if it became common it would make civilization impossible.
It is wise, however, to feel some degree of doubt, greater or less according to circumstances, as regards even universally accepted opinion. Few things seemed more firmly established than the Newtonian theory of gravitation, yet it turned out to need correction. The rational man, in such cases, acts upon the accepted opinion but is willing to give a hearing to anyone who advances serious reasons against it.
Rationality is shown not so much in what you believe as in how you believe it. You are rational if you believe it on evidence and as firmly as the evidence warrants and if, further, your belief leads you to act only in ways which are no obstacle to the discovery of error.
Freedom of opinion is important, since, without it, no generally received error can ever be corrected; therefore no belief should be so firmly held as to lead to persecution of those who reject it. But so long as freedom of opinion is safeguarded, all except professional experts have a better chance of being right if they accept than if they reject the prevalent opinion.”
Bertrand Russell’s American Essays 1931–1935, Vol. II, Essay. 37: What to Believe, p. 454 (24 August 1931)
Over in Twitter World… Is Musk finally going to tell all? or is this just another tease?
In the meantime, Musk hasn’t lifted the permanent Twitter ban on me or others, who are in the same position as I am. The last thing I shared on Twitter was a video by the Canadian Covid-19 Care Alliance on Dec 28, 2021. That was my great sin… Was it a co-incidence that my permanent bans on Twitter and Linked-in happened two days before my Joe Rogan interview? Over time, I have come to believe it was government intervention.
Recently, I tried to re-activate my Linked-in account. They told me that due to “continued violations” of their Linked-in policies, the ban would not be lifted. Riddle me this - how does one have “continued violations” on Linked-in, when one is banned from Linked-in?
Hell is going to freeze over before I get any sort of apology from these characters.
Freedom of opinion is no longer allowed in the public spaces. Therefore, just speaking our truth clearly becomes an act of rebellion.
As long as freedom of opinion is no longer safeguarded, the world of the early 20th century, the world of Bertrand Russell, no longer exists.
To “trust the experts,” freedom of opinion must be universal.
The is a moment in time, where being a lion, being free is paramount. Learn to speak your truth, share your opinion and make America free again.
Quote from Carl Sagan in 1997...
“We’ve arranged a global civilisation in which most crucial elements – transportation, communications, and all other industries, agriculture, medicine, education, entertainment, protecting the environment, and even the key democratic institution of voting – profoundly depend on science and technology.
“We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.”
Here in the totalitarian state of Washington, the "experts" are now recommending masking indoors. Thank you for this morning's pep talk, Dr. Malone, we rebels are going to need to stay strong.