Capable of Expressing With Equanimity Opinions Which

¶ … capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions. Albert Einstein

Culture is often defined as a way of life that evolves and is developed over time, shared by a group of people, and permeated by the nature of the group that uses it to organize, educate, and assign behavior. While there are different cultural formations, subgroups, schisms, etc., humans seem innately attracted to belonging to a group and allowing that group to mold their views and behaviors. Within these cultural groups, one of the predominant characteristics is organizational communication. Organizations are established to perpetuate the culture -- unfortunately, that also means at times it perpetuates mediocrity.

A huge part of our life is devoted to this organizational communication -- we use the informal systems to belong all the time and they have a rather structured, but hierarchical way of organizing our behavior. We learn what to say, what to think, what to wear, how to act from an early age. It is not always completely overt, either -- subtle signals of acceptance or rejection abound, and certainly once we are old enough to understand the media we are barraged by messages about how to think. When we get to school we are either an outsider or part of the group -- not so subtle social displays of belonging and thinking. This continues throughout our school years and at times becomes almost overwhelming. When we start a new job we see different verbal or non-verbal signs of how to get along within that organization both in formal structures and informal 'water-cooler' behavior. It is to our advantage to become part of the dominant culture, the dominant group. Everyone wants to feel like they belong, everyone wants to feel part of the team, the group, and on the inside. But, unfortunately, at times this means letting go of some very basic principles of critical thinking, judgment, and self-controlling maps about interpreting the world.

While Einstein was referring to the manner in which cultural prejudice impacted many individual's feelings about agnosticism and atheism, the core message is one of critical thinking -- or the lack thereof. Critical thinking is not something one can find by purchasing a book or a course; it is a process and approach to life. It is a way of looking at information, taking that information, processing it, and being able to bring past knowledge, other materials, and synthesize that information so that one either comes up with something new, or is able to discern more analytically the messages being said or views.