“What if I married a dog?” she asked on one of our evening walks, eyes glinting with mischief.
“Or a… tree?!”
My daughter was around 11 or 12 at the time.
We’d just been discussing the concept of same-gender relationships.
This was her way of pushing the envelope – to ask about non-human ones!
The natural impulse is to reply with a rushed:
“But you CAN’T do that!”
I didn’t. Resisted it.
Instead, I said:
“If that will make you happy, it’s fine.”
😊
I’ve had several people tell me that, however.
When I suggest something ‘far out’, or ‘ridiculous’, or ‘unconventional’.
They’ll instantly say:
“But you CAN’T do that!”
I persist.
And ask: “Why not?”
They’ll say: “BECAUSE!”
That’s all.
Because!
In ‘logic theory’, this is called a ‘circular argument‘.
You can’t do it – because you can’t do it!
Crazy, right?
Yeah, dogma is. Kinda.
😜
What is dogma?
Unthinking acceptance.
Of anything.
An idea. A practice. A belief.
A convention. An attitude. A behavior.
When you adopt a position, or take a stand, WITHOUT thinking through the situation… you’re embracing dogma.
Stated differently (as Steve Jobs did):
Dogma is living with the results of OTHER people’s thinking!
Being dogmatic is easy.
Convenient.
Hence appealing.
And it’s also… crazy.
Kinda.
Many people have a touching faith in some things.
One friend often shares sensational news headlines.
And asks, “Is this true?”
A moot question… if you see which puppet-masters are pulling the strings!
India’s largest media conglomerate is solely owned by one corporate group. Another has recently taken over a major TV/online news channel.
In the US by 2017, just six companies owned 90 percent of the media in the country. Forbes (2016) said 15 billionaires owned all major US national newspapers.
UK’s national newspaper market was dominated by three companies. In 2021, their market share was 90 percent.
Fact: ALL news is agenda-driven.
🙄
A post office agent I know remains firmly convinced that a brain transplant is real – because he saw it on a message forwarded via WhatsApp.
“They can’t share false info on WhatsApp, sir, can they?” he asks, childlike in his innocence.
🤷♂️
My daughter has implicit faith in accuracy of the Wikipedia.
And she uses it (to my shock and horror!) even to validate medical information.
As an online marketer, I know how to ‘game’ Wikipedia for ‘authority’ links back to my website.
And see how readily it’s open to manipulation.
😳
Crowd-sourced knowledge is another Holy Grail for some.
They’ll swear by the ‘wisdom of crowds‘.
And yes, it does work – largely.
But not always.
Ask anyone who’s lost a few hundred thousand on the stock markets… and they’ll tell you how steep a price they paid for that lesson!
🤦♂️
So… dogma.
It’s the result of NOT thinking for yourself.
And no, it doesn’t mean you ought to be a contrarian.
Or refuse to believe everything you’re told.
No, that’s not at all what I mean.
After applying thought, you might accept the very assertion you seek to validate.
Nothing wrong with that.
As long as you deploy your knowledge. Or judgment, experience and logic to anything… BEFORE you accept (or reject!) it.
Do that, and you’ll deny dogma.
When someone challenges your: “But you CAN’T do that!”
Counter with my favorite question: “Why?”
You’ll have answers.
Or arguments.
Or evidence.
No, you may not care to share them.
Or defend your position or viewpoint.
Just so long as you have your reasons – for whatever you trust, believe and get invested in – that’s fine.
So long as you’re NOT letting somebody else DO your thinking FOR you.
Because that’s dogma.
Deny dogma.
God gave you a brain.
For God’s sake, man…
Use it!
😂