Thoughtless, at your own peril

"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you."
- Don Marquis

This is a motto for all groups that attempt to direct the behaviour of others among them.

Al Qaida makes its followers think they are reasoning through the situation such that the only conclusion is to commit suicide and kill as many others as possible at the same time.

Television advertisers make us think that we need their products and we reason that theirs is the solution to our need (which in many cases does not even exist).

Leaders of religious sects have their followers believe that they are making a conscious choice based on the (limited selection of) facts at their disposal.

However, this mind-bending method only works with weak-thinking people up to a certain age. There comes a point where some people don't think at all, at which time they will accept the simple suggestions of anyone who has anything good to offer (no matter how fraudulent the offer may be).

Bill Allin
'Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems,' striving to make reasoned thinking a life-long activity.
Learn more at http://billallin.com/cgi/index.pl