INEWORD P

Monday, May 1, 2023 | Pinewood International American School of Thessaloniki had taken over the world.

We seem to have entered a false sense of democracy, where our societies are ruled by different kinds of mobs, celebrities, pseudointellectuals, or otherwise, thoughtless majorities, rather than by groups of individuals characterised by excellence of intellect and virtue. The question worth asking of course is, why do our societies promote the mobs? Why have we reached the point where it has become so difficult for people, and particularly the young generation, to have their own, personal opinion? I think the answer lies in that the truly intelligent people are deeply independent, exactly because they are ruled by their own free thinking, by their passion for truth and justice; and for that reason, they are dangerous, and they must be kept silent. As we read in Herodotus’ Histories, “The tallest and best ear corns that stand out must be reaped”.

A truly free intellect, a truly independent, original thought cannot be controlled and must therefore be suppressed. Mobs, on the other hand, are much more convenient for governments, as they can be easily guided and moulded into whatever suits them each time.

The intelligentsia should vocalise the importance and method of obtaining actual freedom of thought, free from manipulative sources. It simply requires a willingness to seek out diverse perspectives; a commitment to justice, to constructive dialogue, not with the criminally promoted “influencers” of any sort, but with the “ear corns that stand out”. Imagine how different our world would be, if before making an important decision, or before expressing our opinion, we asked ourselves: “What would Socrates think about that? What would Hemingway think? What would Mandela do?” They are the ones who can help us truly conquer freedom of thought; a thought unfettered by bias, celebrity-culture, mob-mentality, the “ one-day heroes”, and the pseudo-democratic plurality of information. Let us thus be guided by those “ear corns that stand out” and have always stood out!

Thank you!

Bibliography

Ahmed, Imran. “Social media companies are to blame for Andrew Tate | Context.” context.news, 13 January 2023, https://www.context.news/big-tech/ opinion/social-media-companies-are-to-blame-forandrew-tate

Herodotus. The Histories. Edited by Carolyn Dewald, translated by Robin Waterfield, Oxford University Press, UK, 1998.

Konrath, S., O'Brien, E. and Hsing, C. (2010)

“Changes in Dispositional Empathy in American College Students over Time A Meta-Analysis. Personality and Social Psychology, 15, 180-198. - References.” Changes in Dispositional Empathy in American College Students Over Time: A Meta-Analysis, Sage Journals, https://www.scirp.org/((lz5mqp453edsnp55rrgj ct55)/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspxReferenceID= 1158523

Wilde, Oscar, and David Price. “De Profundis, by Oscar Wilde.” De Profundis by Oscar Wilde, https:// www.gutenberg.org/files/921/921-h/921-h.htm.