I had an English professor, Hurshel Burton, who's entire coursework was based on the concept

of critical thinking. Critical thinking is an intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from,
or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to
belief and action. That sounds complicated, right? But in layman's terms, it just means not being
a selfish dumbass, exercising the ability to apply abstract thinking.
The amount of influence we all have in each other's lives is more responsibility than most of us
are willing to acknowledge, accept and remain conscience of. One single, solitary action or
inaction of one person has the potential to permanently alter the lives and futures of the people
in their lives forever. That's a monumental responsibility that each of us can not escape and it
reverberates infinitely. Most people do not think enough of themselves to comprehend the
potential gravity of each choice we make. There is an illusion of neutrality that exists in our
perception. We give ourselves a false sense of comfort in believing that we are only hurting
ourselves and that we can somehow escape the domino effect of each selfish whim we think
we're entitled to. Our emotional wounds are not a license to victimize everyone in our path and
do not give us the right to dump all of our problems and baggage on each other.
Look at the person sitting next to you. We've watched enough episodes of CSI to know that they
will they leave fingerprints and fibers on the space they occupied after their departure - why is it
that we can not appreciate the certainty that they will leave behind the imprint of their words and
repercussions of their actions? We have become masters at the art of justification and
rationalizing our reactions or impulsive immediately gratifying decisions. Much value is placed
on the amount of monetary gain and/or personal benefit each decision brings instead of
carefully and unselfishly weighing out the possible outcomes. Not satisfying all of our wants,
needs, and urges involves a certain amount of discomfort that most people are incapable of
enduring, much less the ability to self-discipline. Fuck that.
Higher intelligence is associated with a more future-focused tendency, and long-term intentions.
If you really want me to break it down - scientifically we are speaking about the prefrontal cortex
of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for conflicting thoughts, determining the good
and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working
toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social
"control" (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to
socially-unacceptable outcomes). I can cite my sources if you'd like me to but, I've read that the
rate at which the prefrontal cortex develops in the female brain is said to be approximately 11
years ahead of the male brain. I think that's fairly obvious and worth at least "googling" however,
for the purposes of this post we'll leave it at that.
Someone who has the ability to practice abstract thinking does not compartmentalize life
lessons in categories of past, present, and future. It takes practice to apply these past learned
lessons to current situations, across the board. There seems to be a general lack of
accountability that is almost contagious and cancerous in people, not to mention the extreme
sense of entitlement with an underlying lack of humility. I'm pretty offended by people's expected
outcomes versus the amount of work they are willing to dedicate to any given situation. We are
emotionally lazy and sick with complacency. We place value on others based on how they
benefit us not based on their virtue, which is ass backward. To say that people are careless in

their decision-making process doesn't quite cut it. People are borderline sociopathic in their
rational procedure and the ONLY thing I see anyone being loyal and faithful to is their
disillusioned, hypocritical "right" to pursue any and all self-serving desires regardless of who and
what has to be sacrificed in order to get whatever it is they want at any given time. And then
immediately afterward set about the highly developed process of shifting blame by pulling out
any/all defense mechanisms - the tried and true throwing an all out toddler fit, projection,
regression, denial, the good ole smoke screen technique, and a bunch of others I can't recall.
I feel so gifted to have witnessed my grandparents and the way that they interacted with each
other within their marriage and with others just in general. They respected each other and the
institute of their marriage above all else. Recent personal events in my life have left me
disgusted and emotionally bankrupt. I am left in complete disbelief of the almost terminal, toxic
nature of people and their complete indifference to being that way. I am bored to fucking death
with all this self-induced, lame-ass, self-destructive rationale. Grow up. Do the right thing, even
when nobody is looking. Concern yourself with your legacy and the story people will tell you
long after you gone. ZOOM OUT. Stop trying to "win" and put the slightest amount of effort into
being self-aware. For fuck's sake, stop lying to yourselves and don't get mad at me because I
won't live your lie with you. Truth = Love. If you made it to the end of this soapbox rant, thanks
for your attention span. I just had to get that out.