Pioneers Wanted

We need more pioneers today, more so, I believe, than we need heroes. Pioneers break away from the masses to conquer and tame new territory. They risk everything in order to explore places and concepts others are too timid to venture into. We need these people to blaze new trails for us to follow because the populated ideas are becoming crowded and stifling.

There are no pioneers these days, however. We have become, instead, a world of parrots. The media, celebrities who think too highly of themselves and politicians with avarice in their eyes and hands in our pockets will spew forth whatever gullible doctrine they wish to spout and soon the masses have picked up their chant and rally around it. People are parrots of the popular in an age when we need pioneers of thought.

Like a modern pied piper the media tells us what we should think and believe and we follow along like mice. There is a reason the television is called the Boob Tube. Could it be that’s the reason we’re seeing so many remakes of old movies and television shows? It’s easier to copy the past than create for the future? We would rather parrot what others have done than blaze new trails of our own. Most people no longer even question what they are being told. That’s obvious by everything that is shared on social media because it sparks something in someone and they never even verify its validity. They just swallow it and regurgitate it to anyone who will listen.

We need people who are going to challenge the rest of us with new ideas; who will stand out from the parrots and cry, “No! They’re not telling you the truth! It doesn’t have to be that way. We can do better.”

And we need people brave enough to lead us into the uncharted territories of new discovery. People need to break the shackles of the same old rhetoric because all it does is hold us down. If we continue the same cycle of defeatist thinking, we shall remain defeated. If we continue to think in terms of race, we will remain racists. If we continue to think in economic levels, we will all remain poor. If we continue to listen to politicians and celebrities with a platform, we will remain ignorant. It is time for the people to once again become brave pioneers, testing our mettle against traditional thought. The world has enough parrots. We need pioneers. Without them growth will cease and the future will be stagnant.

It won’t be easy. The pioneers faced dangers at every turn. There was hardship, hunger, disease, and even enemies. Being a pioneer of thought will require effort. It’ll mean suspending your belief until you’ve concluded your own research to validate what you’re being told. You’ll need to defend the territory of your own thoughts and viewpoints instead of being a soldier in someone else’s battle. However, the rewards are well worth the risks. It is better to be your own person than a puppet in someone else’s play.

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