My Reason to Believe

My reason to believe is as varied as the articles of belief that are presented to me.  It is in my nature to want to believe.  It seems far more productive and valuable to believe than to not believe.  Of course, before I cast my vote, I, like anyone who takes voting seriously, will weigh the merits of the offered proposal against the consequences of disbelief.  That’s only common sense.

There are many times when, in the face of arguments against believing, I choose to believe anyway, thereby exposing me to what might be believed to be a lack of common sense, although common sense isn’t necessarily the greatest thing since sliced bread that it’s held up to be.  (Incidentally, what do you suppose was the greatest thing before sliced bread?)  In any event, for me to believe in something in the face of overwhelming argument to the contrary, is for me to take a stand.  “The very nature of a lunatic”, you might say.  Perhaps, perhaps not, depending on what you believe.

Sometimes, to rebel against the herd mentality, sometimes to prove my own mental superiority, sometimes just for the thrill of being contrary, I must stand for who I hold myself to be and for my ideals and for Humankind as a whole, as did Copernicus when he insisted, regardless of the consequences, that the earth was not the center of the Universe; just as Socrates stood up to his prosecutors for his teaching methods, and just as the round-earthers stood up to the flat-earthers concerning the shape of the world.  All these people held a belief that flew in the face of the “reality” of the time and were later, not only vindicated, but, more importantly, revered for their foresight.

In conclusion, I may be crazy or I may be right, but I choose to believe in order to stand for who I am in this world of billions of others.  If I am eventually proven to be a visionary, all the better.