Know Before You say

Daily Quote

"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family."

-Kofi Annan-

Lesson of the Day

Many people talk about things of which they have no knowledge. Our society has an issue with people thinking that everyone has a right to speak their mind and provide their opinion. That's not the case. The biggest example I have experienced is people judging the value of something without even knowing whatever it is. You can't say that someone is bad and deserves punishment, if all you have to go on is one person's word. You don't know enough. Many times I've been called , because I refuse to take a stance on the Edward Snowden case until I've gone through as much information as I can. I will not condemn anyone or anything until I know enough. I have been called a disloyal friend, because I do not accept a single person's word as evidence for the quality of a human being or their actions. People lie, people twist truth, people make mistake, the longer I know someone, the more weight I give their word should they keep it, but even then I need more than someone's word. I have been called heartless, for not blindly believing what people say. I'm not sorry if I come off heartless, cold, distant, indecisive, whatever. I've had enough people lie to me to know a word isn't proof. I've made enough misjudgements on value and worth due to a lack of information and thought to know that a single piece of information more could completely change the outcome. I've had enough people misjudge things and others around them due to a lack of information and thought to know others aren't perfectly reliable to say the least. I've had enough people manipulate my emotions with stories to know that, while people lie, emotions shouldn't rule my head. Facts, information, proof, logic, those are the things that should govern decisions. Emotions have their place, but so too does logic, and in today's society emotion is too oft used in lieu of logic and reason. Call me cold, call me heartless, call me whatever you want for not blindly believing you, but I will listen to reason and logic and evidence, should you decide to bring such upon my mind.

Questions to Ponder

How often do you use emotion where logic and reason should be used? How often do people try to sway your opinion solely with emotion and words, rather than by logic and evidence? Why do so many people think emotionally rather than logically?

Gratitude

I'm thankful for the ability to think logically and for the strength to be myself, even when others disapprove. I'm thankful for the tools I have that allow me to make better decisions and to lead a better life than I did before. Thank you all for reading, I hope you all gain something, and that you all have a great day!