An Opening Salvo

Welcome to my blog, A Southern Thinker.

I chose that name not only because it represents me--a thinking man who happens to be from the south--but because these days many would view the two words as a dichotomy of each other.  We Southerners are often stereotyped as mindless hillbillies, when in actuality, it seems more and more these days it is the self-proclaimed "elite" living on our coasts that have become the mindless drones marching in step with government edicts without even bothering to ask "Why?".

The second part to the title, "Thinker", describes someone that is also quite scarce in today's world.  Thinking has become a lost art.  It has been replaced by dogma and rhetoric.  It is far easier to be told what to believe than to spend time figuring out why you believe it.  It's even easier to spout off rhetoric that has been passed down to you from the people who want to control you.  To think for yourself requires careful consideration and evaluation of several points, backed up--hopefully--through logic, fact, and reason.  In a society that ever-increasingly seeks out the easiest path, the aforementioned requirements of sound thinking are too bothersome to ever take seriously.

I don't believe that my blog is going to effect significant change, nor will it remedy the lack of sound thinking in our society today.  But I do hope those who read it find themselves contemplating ideas and concepts that they hadn't before.  I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I do hope those who disagree will challenge me with their own brand of thinking, backed by sound logic, fact, and reason.  If I can accomplish that from time to time, I will feel as if my blog has been a success.

Welcome aboard!  I hope you enjoy the ride!