Think For Yourself

 

"We must still do our own thinking and act upon it, for even
 though we make mistakes, experience is still the best teacher,
and thinking and experimenting develop character."

Laura Ingalls Wilder

(1867-1957)

American author
Picture courtesy/Wikipedia

Cooperation is the keynote of affairs today and our lives seem to be
governed mostly by the advice of experts. These both are greatly needed,
and I heartily say, more power to them.  But every good becomes evil
when carried to excess by poor faulty mortals.

Thrift and economy overdone become miserliness; even religion may
be carried so far as to become fanaticism and intolerance, the faith that
should cause love and gentleness instead causing hatred and persecution.

And if, just so, the power of cooperation and the privilege of having expert
advice are not to become harmful, then individual thinking and initiative
 must keep pace with them.  We must still do our own thinking and act upon it,
for even though we make mistakes, experience is still the best teacher,
and thinking and experimenting develop character.

The more we think for ourselves, the less we shall need advice; and high-
priced experts would not need to waste their time and government money,
which is really our money, in telling us things we should think out for ourselves.

I read an item a short time ago in a farm paper stating that government
experts advised the use of oil on shoes to prolong their life and usefulness
and in so doing beat the high cost of living.  Full instructions were
given for this treatment of shoes.

Now the weekly cleaning and greasing of the family shoes was a
regular thing with the grandparents and the parents of most of us,
and they charged nothing for advising and instructing us in the process.
In fact, there was at times a compelling quality about their advice
that is lacking in that of government experts.

"Scrape off all that dirt and clean those shoes up good, then rub
that grease into them, " said they, perhaps a bit sharply.

"The shoes should be thoroughly cleaned and warm oil rubbed
well into the leather," say the experts smoothly.

So you see that expert advice was given in our homes years ago.
And after all, that is the best place for teaching many things,
first and most important of which is how to think for one's self.

"Think For Yourself"
( 1920)
Taken from the book,
"Little House In The Ozarks
A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler
The Rediscovered Writings"
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Edited by Stephen W. Hines
(1991)
Guideposts Edition