Critical Thinking: Solution for a Globalizing World

It is common knowledge now that we live in a quickly globalizing world. Ideas and messages move remarkably fast through communities of varying scales, facilitated by the ever increasing capabilities of social media. In this world, where communication is seemingly unlimited, ideologies are consistently challenged.

Isolationist ideals are continually assaulted by this process. Despite national, cultural, or even religious divides, the human species is faced with the daunting and inevitable task of achieving total solidarity. How can this process be allowed to occur peacefully? The world has watched this occurrence over the past year with great interest. Uprisings in Tunisia, Bahrain, Syria, Libya and Morocco all were fueled by scrupulously organized social media campaigns. In each case, facing tyrannical opposition, ideologies not permitted in these regimes managed to sequester the hearts and minds of otherwise ordinary citizens, a testament to this globalizing world. A world where free thought is praised and kept alive by social media.

Those who believe in moral and ideological relativism have all their work ahead of them, since free thought can no longer by restrained. What does this mean for our future? Ideologies and beliefs will certainly clash, and as I stated before, and if the events of 2011 are of any indication, we’re in for a very long struggle. The United States, a long-standing beacon of freedom and liberation, is currently participating in a dangerous scene in the Middle East, essentially staring down the theocratic Iranian regime while holding hands with it’s main antagonist, Israel. The Iranians seemingly have chosen to violate the non-proliferation treaty, and as a country with very strict ideologies, there will certainly be a mighty struggle to dispel of those that are in direct contention with freedom. One might ask how we can minimize violence in the face of these inevitable truths. It is our duty to spread the gift of free thought, the gifts of critical thinking. This can be done by professional journalists or even through social media. Causing changes in general sentiments begins with the individual and grows rapidly, again as we have seen in the Middle East during the past year.

It has long been known that the most viable solution to poverty is empowering women, giving them the skills to critically think and make appropriate decisions. I am certain that through this alone we will see a drop in HIV/AIDS throughout the world. In this fast paced world these skills are essential to combat false beliefs and tyrannical ambivalence. Perhaps social media will do us a favor in this regard and catalyze this process.


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