Most people die with the same worldview they are born into.

This is a tragedy. To take on the ideas and views of others without thorough personal analysis is one of the most egregious kinds self-betrayal.

This blind conformity is the root of much anguish and regret in the world. A multitude of wars have been fought because citizens have placed their blind trust in national leaders.

Communism, a terrible evil, was blindly followed by the masses, which caused numerous deaths. Slavery, an idea now appalled by modern society, was blindly followed. Nazism, sexism, extremism, cultism, organized crime, and other forms of violence or oppression have thrived on blind conformity.

To conform provides an easier alternative than sorting through the evidence and forming an opinion of your own. In this case, the easy thing is not the right thing.

Socrates, the teacher of Plato, is well known for having said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Your mind is your biggest advantage and resource. I encourage you to think for yourself. Analyze the data and form an educated opinion. You may find that it differs from the masses who do not exercise their power to judge ideas. And therefore find themselves unwittingly taking whatever they are given.