Each of us is gifted with a mind, and the choice that we are blessed with is to utilize our mind as thus representing our inherent right to think independent thoughts and thereby to do things which may not be in conformance with what society either expects of us, or what we believe we have been taught to do. That is to say, it is imperative to recognize that we are freewill individuals and those that fail to recognize this truth are the very same that will find themselves often going with the flow, which by the way is what we see with dead branches and debris in a river, or whether we will at least consider going against the flow, which is what we see in a river of those that are in a rowboat and that are willing to use their oars against that flow.
To ignore or to not develop our mind so as to think our own thoughts is to our discredit, because it needs to be recognized that a lot of the progress so accomplished by humankind has not come forth from those that simply toe the line and comply with the beliefs and orthodoxies of the day, but rather progress is often developed by those that question those orthodoxies and thus examine what is believed so as to ascertain the full truth of the matter, and further to the cause, to take to the next logical level that which has previously stood the test of time. Indeed, the unquestioning soul is the same that does not help bring progress to any civilization, though they may well do their part that contributes to that civilization by their labor; but in order for that civilization to make a quantum leap into that which will be of more benefit, there needs to be those that will not only think the thoughts that others have not considered, but successfully develop such, often with the aid and help of additional free thinkers.
Those that are animals and nothing more than an animal can typically be trained to obey because they are not thinkers, but rather are obedient to those who are in authority. We, as human beings, are made of different stuff, which permits us to think and because we have the power to think, it signifies that we are thereby held to account for what we do or don’t do with that which we have been gifted with, for not all those who think, actually think thoughts that are beneficial to society and thereby just to think doesn’t mean that good things will result, which is why we have laws within societies to keep therefore those that think the wrong thoughts and thereby do bad things are consequently held to account.
To think is to recognize that we have a responsibility to where those thoughts take us, which signifies that we must answer for all that we think and do; whereas, those who don’t think will simply be asked the salient question: why, when they were gifted with thinking power, did they refuse to develop it and subsequently to use for the betterment of their self as well as the society that they were a part of?