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16 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 27, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Free thinkers hold key to future advancement By Michael Bertrand GRADE 11, MACLACHLAN COLLEGE hen I stopped believing in Santa Claus, my life changed. Of course I wanted to believe, I tried to believe, but I just couldn't anymore. W Not believing in Santa marked the time when I became self-aware. I became aware of how to critically think about the information I received. It was quite an overwhelming revelation for my seven-year-old mind to take. I can't say that I devel- oped free and independent thought at exactly that moment, because that takes time and experience, but I can say that I started to value it as a very important aspect of life. Free thought is a way of thinking about something in a way that's entirely detached from any possible influence except logic. Free thinkers are like children. Everyone starts out as a free thinker with nothing to twist or corrupt thought. One by one, all our little free thinkers are consumed by the masses until preciously few are left. I remember in my preschool we were instructed to draw fire trucks. Everyone took out their crayons and started trying their best to replicate a fire truck. The boy beside me, Duncan, decided to put wings on his fire truck. He thought that if a fire truck had wings, it could get to fires faster and save more lives. Not surprisingly, all the other children ridiculed him and said it was a stupid idea. He was embarrassed and was sure to never repeat his "mistake" again. What happened at my preschool was a tragedy. It is an example of the death of a free thinker. One can only imagine what might have been achieved. Just imagine what levels of advancement humans could attain if there were double the number of free thinkers than there are today. Free thinkers understand the world's intricacies better than most people. They are able to analyze the shades of grey that are our moral reality. I can describe a limited example of this that most people would not think of as free thought. Say a person steals from another person, is that evil? Society would say it is. However what if the person had to feed their family? Society also says that helping others is good. Therefore, "good" and "evil" are useless words unless there is already a pre-established moral background and this moral background depends on your point of view. That is, the man who steals may go to jail, but he may still believe that he did the right thing for his family. Regardless of the meaning of "evil", free thought led me to a truth that conventional wisdom would never have revealed to me. You don't have to be an atheist, or a spiritual guru, or a philosopher to reach the pinnacle of free thought. The first step is to understand that the way society thinks is not perfect, and it certainly isn't you. I can't consider myself a free thinker, I think that is for others to judge, but if I'm not, then I will spend my entire life trying to get there. HOME SHOW SALE Featuring our Best Seller! CLASSIC POWER PERFORMER complete with: · 550 air watts of cleaning power · Electric, powerhead hose with attachment set * 3 DAYS ONLY!1 Sale Ends March at 4:00 p.m. ST Save the drive to Toronto - we have the best Home Show deals right here in Oakville. Why pay for parking and admission? s Bonued includ · 30' basic air hose · 7 pc. attachment set · Hose cover · Hardwood cleaning kit Super Quiet Serenity Series SERENITY QUIET POWER complete with: · 550 air watts of quiet clean · electric powerhead hose and attachment set Save $420 OFF M.S.R.P. Save $470 OFF M.S.R.P. only $ Model 000300 599 99 Model 000304 $ nly 2379 Trafalgar 379 Trafalgar Road Road 905-257-6145 05-257-6145 05 257 6145 Trafalgar Ridge Shopping PLaza (in the Winners/HomeSense plaza) Beside Scotia Bank 699 99 HOURS: Monday - Friday 10:00-6:00, Saturday 10:00-4:00, Sunday 12:00-4:00 S Sale Ends March 1ST at 4:00 p.m. 3 DAYS ONLY!