Rev. Austin Miles
Is critical thinking no longer P.C.?
FacebookTwitter
By Rev. Austin Miles
July 6, 2013


In days long past they were called, "Philosophers." The term engendered respect toward those hearty individuals upon whom the title was bestowed. A philosopher was considered an intellectual scholar whose observations pierced the veneer of society, probed beneath the surface of outward actions that accompanied the art of semantics, and peeled away layers of rhetoric (and in many cases, hypocrisy) to lay bare the essentials of truth.

Today those same skilled individuals would, in many cases, be considered trouble makers, rabble-rousers, whistle blowers and misguided social activists. Society today does not want thinking people who might, with their observations, upset the apple cart of profitable bureaucratic conduct.

This turn-about on intellectual thought may have begun in the days of Christ. He certainly qualified as a critical thinker. One of his disciples, Thomas, while being visibly moved at the resurrection of Jesus, still wanted to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the phenomenon by asking to see the nail marks in his hands and feet, and the hole in his side from the spear.

It was a proper inquiry for a critical thinker. Yet, to this day, the mention of Thomas carries the label, "Doubting Thomas," a somewhat negative connotation propagated by many churches. Very few bouquets for a legitimate critical thinking inquiry.

Today is is not a question of how society views critical thinkers. It is rather, does society think at all? In the present age it may not be politically correct to do so. Twentieth Century society does not really want anyone probing its surface.

From a personal vantage point, the critical thinker must be more than a scholar seeking truth and understanding. This individual must be strong, unwavering and willing to "suffer the slings and arrows of the outrageous fortune" of those who have their own agendas and who feel their own surface intellect and opinions are far superior to any scholars'.

So passionate are they in their quest for their own voice to be heard that the result could be character assassination and at times, violence. Write a letter to the editor stating a religious or political view point, make a public statement regarding a specific class of people, or indeed speak on any issue and watch the flood of negative responses.

Criminal charges were once filed against this writer for questioning and criticizing the actions of Child Protective Services for illegally taking a child from his mother.

But despite the inconvenience of being dragged to court and becoming the subject of front page headlined newspaper stories, an enormous amount of good resulted. The Washington Times ran a series on abuses by Child Protective Services due to this well publicized case. NBC TV did a special on the program and laws were proposed and passed against these unwarranted procedures along with making the adoption of foster children easier and faster, which all came directly as a result of this case becoming a national concern.

Parent's groups were formed all over the United States to unite against abuses by CPS. And best of all, with all the noise, Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga investigated the case of Adrian Chavez, who was forcibly taken from his home, ruled that it was an illegal action and ordered the system to release him back to his mother.

Yes, today the serious critical thinker pays the price of resistance by being the subject of public criticism and sometimes hostility that most are unwilling to pay.

However, there is also a great internal reward in being an instrument of positive change for the betterment of all. We desperately need a new rising crop of these brave scholars who will indeed, make the world think. Their recognition will eventually come.

Rev. Austin Miles earned his B.A. in Philosophy.

******


Photo Caption: Famed Thinking Man Statue

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Connecting Link


© Rev. Austin Miles

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

Click to enlarge

Rev. Austin Miles

Sadly, Rev. Austin Miles passed away on April 12, 2023, at age 89. His memorial service was held June 3, 2023. His obituary can be read here.

He has broken many major stories including the required study of Islam in the public schools, and reviews books, movies and concerts which brought him an award from University of California at Fullerton for Critical Review. He was a writer/researcher and technical consultant for the multi-award winning series "Ancient Secrets of The Bible," which debuted on CBS TV and has been in constant re-runs since.

Subscribe

Receive future articles by Rev. Austin Miles: Click here

More by this author

 

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
Flashback: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Jerry Newcombe
Church should be about worship, not entertainment

Laurie Roth
Trump, the truth, and America will prevail in spite of leftist evil plans

Cliff Kincaid
Terrorist attack in Baltimore

Tom DeWeese
DOJ ignores 2nd Amendment

Linda Goudsmit
CHAPTER 11: Critical Race Theory: A species of the ideological thought genus Marxism

Pete Riehm
They have tried everything to destroy Trump, but assassination

Tom DeWeese
When your red state governor dresses in blue

Rev. Mark H. Creech
Revelation Chapter 22: Eternal recompense

Tom DeWeese
YIMBYs, workforce housing, and community land trusts: All means to an end to private property

Jerry Newcombe
The vice president visits an abortion clinic—and the people yawn?

Pete Riehm
Like our Commander-in-Chief, America is clueless, feckless, and powerless

Selwyn Duke
Did anti-white, DEI bias steal a state final spot from a white basketball team?
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites