Thinking is rare. Real thinking—honest, independent, disciplined—is nearly extinct. Most confuse reaction for thought. They confuse agreement with clarity. They call it “thinking” when they echo the crowd, defend nonsense, or rally behind ideas they’ve never examined. Parroting isn’t thinking. Obedience isn’t intellect. Thought requires effort, risk, and often isolation.

We live in an age of manufactured certainty. People repeat what they’re told and call it truth. Repetition doesn’t make something real. Consensus doesn’t create reality. Truth doesn’t take a poll. It stands on its own, whether it’s liked, believed, or even noticed. It’s indifferent to applause. Still, anyone who questions the fantasy is treated like a threat.

The real thinker becomes a problem. He unsettles the narrative. He makes others uncomfortable, not because he’s wrong, but because he refuses to lie. There’s no prize for that. Only suspicion, exclusion, or worse. So, most stay quiet. They choose comfort over clarity. Silence isn’t neutral. It’s permission. Every lie left unchallenged grows roots. Every delusion tolerated becomes doctrine.

This isn’t random. There’s a coordinated war on independent thought. Schools condition minds to conform, not to question. Media delivers narratives, not evidence. Experts offer conclusions, not reasoning. The masses repeat it all, loudly and proudly. Real thought is now an act of defiance.

The thinker must persist anyway. He must follow reason wherever it leads—even if it leads him into exile. Real thought is about integrity, not popularity. It’s not about being right in the moment, but being honest in the long run. That means rejecting convenience. It means refusing to betray your own mind for social ease.

Tacit consent is still consent. Staying silent while absurdity takes root is how cultures rot. You may know the truth, but if you never say it, what good is it? A thought kept hidden might as well not exist. The world doesn’t need secret clarity. It needs spoken courage. It doesn’t need silent dissidents. It needs unafraid voices.

The truth doesn’t require shouting, but it does require speaking. Even a whisper of reason can crack the illusion—if it’s uttered at all. If you wait too long, the noise of the mob will drown everything out. Then, it’s not just that reason is rare—it’s that it’s forbidden.

Real thinking is rare. Uncommon. Endangered. It still exists—and that matters. A single spark is enough to light a fire. One voice of truth can unravel a hundred lies, but not if it stays hidden. The time for quiet agreement is over. Thought must be defended, not just had. Speak it. Share it. Let it live.

Reference

Ludwig von Mises; Human Action