Posted on 04/29/2026 5:22:52 AM PDT by MtnClimber
It’s not optional anymore. You must be a pro at it if you want to resist today’s flood of state propaganda.
At its core, critical thinking means analyzing ideas and opinions without taking anything at face value.
First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt note that the Socratic method fosters critical thinking by pushing individuals to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the accepted views of those around them.
The principle of critical thinking has never been more important than it is today — because the cost of failure is no longer abstract.
Battle for Your Mind
We are living in an era of what many analysts describe as cognitive warfare — a landscape where influence is waged not just through physical force or traditional media, but through information itself.
Narratives are engineered, amplified, and delivered at scale, often designed to provoke emotion before reason has a chance to engage. With the exponential growth of digital platforms, propaganda is no longer slow or obvious. It is continuous, highly adaptive, and personalized —shaping not just what people think, but how they think.
The speed is the weapon. The volume is the pressure. The objective is compliance without awareness.
In this environment, the ability to think critically is a form of defense against manipulation.
As Mark Twain warned, “whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” Today, that warning carries new weight. What feels like majority opinion is manufactured, amplified, and reinforced until it becomes indistinguishable from truth.
Modern propaganda does not need to convince everyone. It only needs to overwhelm, confuse, and erode your habit of questioning.
Discipline of Resistance
Resisting that pressure requires deliberate effort.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
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Critical thinking is in short supply.
This applies not only ideologically, but also professionally. If you can solve problems at work, you become more valuable.
Rush trained me well.
Democrats are not critical thinkers
My ancestors voted with their feet.
Critical thinking is a habit for me.
I’m cynical, so I question everything, and everyone, friend and adversary alike. With people, it typically comes down to question motives, and in particular discerning the ulterior kind, and specifically how and why you wish to involve me.
Uh, that’s your post on a thread about critical thinking?
Hmmm.
...the Socratic method fosters critical thinking by pushing individuals to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well asthe accepted views of those around them.
>>>
As Mark Twain warned, "whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." Today, that warning carries new weight. What feels like majority opinion is manufactured, amplified, and reinforced until it becomes indistinguishable from truth.
Case in point re the "Gospel Truth":
John 10
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
We must question just about everything, even sources that we trust, to keep from being fooled by the left, and also by those “moderate” republicans.
Charlie Kirk was had a talent for cutting through emotion and using logic to reach people.
“ The speed is the weapon. The volume is the pressure. The objective is compliance without awareness.”
—————
It is interesting that people perceive “speed” or “pressure.” It’s not imperative to react to anything on the internet. No one is “watching” you. No one “requires” your answer/reaction immediately. It’s important to take a breath and think about who is writing/filming and why they are so excited about whatever it is they are excited about.
It’s also interesting this writer refers to “State propaganda.” I read this as propaganda from the administration. Is that what he really meant? I know there is plenty of chaff floating down from both sides.
Everything on the internet should be viewed as entertainment. When that happens, you can see what buttons “they” are trying to push.
That’s a very interesting passage. It hints at something that most people don’t want to believe.
Rush and Mark Twain had a lot in common.
Both were born in the Show Me State.
Twain was totally autodidactic and Rush just had a HS diploma.
It's not accurate to say Midwest common sense made America great, but it is probably fair to say bi-coastal academism is it out to destroy it.
The Sanhedrin believed truth was that Christ was guilty of crimes worthy of crucifixion. Conversely, Christ's followers believed Christ was the Messiah.
Personally, I try to determine eternal and moral truths based on Scripture and the Holy Spirit speaking to my mind. I would not presume to always get it right. When examining truth related to the physical world, I like to research scientific studies. This approach does not guarantee learning truth concerning a certain subject. Why? Because there are times that "scientific studies" on a given subject do not agree. There are also times that presumed "scientific studies" are skewed to satisfy a particular view or group. Conflicting Covid studies are a case in point.
I spend entirely too much time on X. The level of discussion on there is very depressing. Someone can post the stupidest crap and literally thousands of people will believe it without question. The one yesterday was that Hegseth and Kid Rock were wasting taxpayer money flying on helicopters. The military flies celebrities and reporters ALL THE TIME. It’s nothing. Those pilots and helicopters are going to be flying. That’s what they do.
Yea. What’s your point?
I’m a Dem.
You’ll meet plenty at Trump rallies.
What we are NOT is Deep State.
Furry says the dumbest things. I ignore his posts because they are always useless.
The battle for our minds is taking a bizarre twist as it's getting difficult to discern truth in some scenarios. I can see a time where it might be necessary to divorce oneself from the internet all together.
Are you gonna divorce yourself from tv and radio, too?
There’s BS everywhere.
Develop a finely honed BS detector.
Use it routinely.
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