I cannot over-stress how little I feel that we use our minds. And though I feel that I am a fairly deep thinker, when I say "our minds," I do include myself. The problem seems that too often we simply are too lazy to give sufficient thought to the problems that beset us. I recognize that there are simply no absolutes in many instances, no right or wrong, no black or white. Yet in many cases moments of clarity and resolution are only a short way down the synaptic pathways of our own minds.

In academic settings I am always amazed when you hear something like the following:

Teacher: Student A, what do you think about. . .

Student A: I don't know.

Teacher: Student B? Student B: I don't know either.

Teacher: Does anyone have any ideas, thoughts? - - - - - -silence- - - - - -

Teacher: Anyone? - - - -more silence- - - -

Teacher: Bueller?

And that is when I typically dive in. It drives me crazy! But before I say more, let me say that as a psychology guy (just enough to be dangerous, not enough to get a job) I understand the basic textbook answers, and I do recognize that I don't have all the answers myself. I also don't believe that I'm frustrated because I feel that people are not "as smart as I am," but rather because they seem to waste the gift it is to have such a highly evolved brain, the ability to reason. Yes there may be some who are not capable of deeper, reflective, abstract thought; but they are relatively few in the adult population. People seem to come up short on the ability or the desire to think about practically anything at any given time. I'm not only talking about questions dealing with the foundations of the universe or why the sky is blue, I'm also speaking of every day scenarios; things that matter.

Don't get me wrong, it has happened to me. I too have given the answer "I don't know." That said, I typically feel that in those instances, I haven't previously given the topic sufficient thought and I simply ask for a moment to think about it. I get a rain-check if you would. I then try to respond with as well a thought out reply as I can. And it's quite possible that I haven't given the "I don't know" answer often enough. Perhaps I do think that I know more than I do. In recent years, it has come to my mind that perhaps I comment too often, so I have tried to be more selective about when I speak and what I say. I understand that some people will not ever comment as long as someone else will.

But why is it? Are we all just too stressed, to busy, worn to thin, to exhausted? Or have we just not been taught how to think? Just how much blame can we place on the television, the radio, or the video game. I certainly do not doubt that we all should spend more time reading, but I'm sure that years ago there were those who said the same things about books that we say today about television. It likely went something along these lines:

"Dang books are rotting kids brains. All they do is set around and read all day. When I was their age we had to imagine our own stories. Now-a-days there is so such thing as imagination, someone else has to tell the story for you."

As silly as that may sound, I can see some truth in it. And certainly there were those who felt that way. But really, where does the blame fall? Maybe it's the government, some big conspiracy to dumb us all down. They control our public education system after all. Or maybe it's the 1% of the population controlling 90% of our nations wealth. The big man keeping the little man down. Are there contributing factors in the environment? Maybe it's our diets, our fast food and preservatives going to our brains. Could it be drugs, pollutants, increased strength of solar rays, increased greenhouse gases, and/or decreased levels of ozone in the atmosphere? Of course, but I sincerely doubt it all.

I think it has been this way too often throughout the history of the world. When do we personally, as individuals start to take some accountability? We often hear the argument that men are accountable for their thoughts as well as their actions. How about fo the lack of thought?

So take a swing at it, take a swing at me. I have no problem with a person disagreeing with me or with anyone else. . . so long as the grounds upon which the disagreement is founded is thought out. Don't give me the almighty "because," or "that's just how I feel," because that just doesn't cut it. Tell me why you think what you think. Let these be the governing rules for all the posts to follow.

By the way, I cant wait to see how many "I don't know" posts I get.