To be or not to be, an independent thinker? People such as William Shakespeare, and Edgar Allen Poe were independent thinkers. Poe, the master of style, was the type of person who stood out. He was the first to look into the deep corners of his mind. “… darkness there and nothing more.” This simple phrase in the poem “The Raven” reminds me of how different he was from others of his time. Independent thinkers are the people who are ahead of their times. Even though we should have more of these trend breakers, we don’t. In our time, independent thinkers are scarce. We tend to go by the popular statement, “well everybody’s doing it” and never stand up for our beliefs. Robert Kennedy looked at things and asked, “Why not.” Teens look at things and ask, why not? Why not do what everybody is doing. Isn’t that the essential thing, to follow your peers in to the deep hole of no return? Instead why not think for ourselves, and be an above average person?
To me an independent thinker is one who could be a leader, not a follower. If it were not for independent thinkers, we would still be back in caves. Where there was no independent thought, just follow the strongest, the big one, the leader.
Why are we not producing more people with individual thought? My belief in regard this situation is that many don’t care, they just go with the flow. Also what people fear most is rejection and so we don’t voice our opinions. Since we fear rejection, we keep our thoughts to ourselves and not try to tell others about them.
The people with the independent thought are what shape and mold our society today. They are the ones that are not ruled by peer pressure. They help establish new rules and regulations instead of creating chaos and mischief. They stand up for what they believe and try to voice their opinion. Unfortunately, these people do not have support and are ridiculed. That is why we need a good organization that can do things to help guide and support us. National Honor Society is that organization where leaders can help others overcome their fear of rejection. They can build a path for themselves and for those who follow.
There are many distractions along the path of leadership that prevent teens from following their beliefs. Such as the fact that the majority of teens are not interested in what could be, but what is. We are afraid that our peers will not accept our new thoughts. The National Honor Society should help make us the best of the best. They will help us to make and uphold the rules that are fair and just. This is the reason that the National Honors Society is of great use to the members since they are the future, our future. And simple phrase in the poem and never stand up for our beliefs. We keep our thoughts to ourselves.
