Questions on " the right to think"

Before reading this book, like what Alex T said, I only sometimes thought about the right to think. When I thought about the idea that people have the right to think, I would feel very glad that I lived in a country where most ideas are not censored. But, when I was not thinking about a person’s right to think I would take this liberty for granted.

The idea that people have the right to think makes me think a lot. In America do people actually have the right to think? Of course, if you asked an American they would probably say that we do have the right. On the other hand, does everybody really have the right to think? When smaller children ask parents sensitive questions, a lot of parents would tell their children something else because the parents think that their child is too immature to think correctly. If parents can think, shouldn’t children also have the power to think about what ever they want?

Another thing the phrase, the right to think, brings up in my mind is that when do we actually have the right. Are we supposed to think in public or in private? I think in the world we live in, we are supposed to think in private. Why else would we be so picky about our privacy. In America we value privacy so much that a “private” room, even though it has windows that everyone can look through, in a restaurant will cost way more than a regular seat which is free. Also, in public people tend to lose some of their individual thinking. In public, people like to be in groups and groups tend to loose their individuality.

Another question I think about is, why do people value the right to think so much. Is it because we like to be different and have individuality. Could it be because other people think that the right to think is important and we, like people, just follow others? Or, is it because of our morals and values that we where bought up with? My conclusion would be that it is a little bit of all three.

This play did not change my view on a person’s right to think, because it is still just a play. I believe, for a person to change their ideas, that person has to go through something more moving than a play.