I have rarely met people who think for themselves. So many people are influenced in a major way in how they think and feel by the media, government, religion, and many other sources. Most have absolutely no clue how much of who they are is what they have been manipulated and influenced to be. What can be done to allow for more people to think more independantly?

education and information in a perfect world ...it will never happen....ask Bernie Madoff

Madoff is a psychotic, in the clinical sense of the term. He is a delusional, self denying greed-driven monster. He thought of wall street as a predatory environment, where only the strong survive. He could not contemplate being a loser in the game, so he reverted to fraud to fund his success, and his own opulent lifestyle. He created a hero worship cult, which he lived and enjoyed daily. He did this by cannibalizing mostly members of his own tribe. Shameful. He is such a pitiful old man.

BTW why is the media giving this douche bag a free pass?

Education is one aspect also the curiculum should encourage independent thinking and research

Sorry, with respect to Madoff, he used the system fair and square. The purpose of the capital markets is efficient allocation of capital. Efficient allocation of capital is what creates a growing economy.This is Business 101. People get a Market risk premium over the risk free rate based on the uncertainty of future cash flows. An opinion is only as good as the amount of education behind it if anything he may have been guilty for not respecting the establish code of ethics

Yes tonyj with the ice scraper and his motto was " Charge them double and give them nothing " Go Leafs

This is like trying to eradicate poverty. It will never happen due to the simple nature of man. There are some that have no drive or ambition to think for themselves, others prefer to follow the crowd or be accepted to inner circles, some don’t have courage to go against the tides, and many prefer to conform to whatever. Independent thinking comes with courage to act on that thinking. If not it is a waste of time. During the elections I met a young lady who confessed she was voting for Mcain because her boyfriend parents would freak if she voted for Obama. There are many like her who do not have the courage to stand and defend their beliefs and ideas.

Agree with ladronaso that making a crusade of this is much like fighting poverty...it is a force that will always exist. Those few individuals who feel the call will pursue wisdom, but those who don't feel the call or aren't materially blessed enough to pursue it have little choice bu to put faith in institutions around them. Even amongst those who seek I would go so far as to say that no one is a genuinely free thinker, with few exceptions. We are all determined in numerous ways by institutions like schools, families, religions, music, etc. I think in every age and generation there are two or three different waves 'cultures of 'thinking', each one emerging from institutions and advances of its precursors. Some bright people are the forefront of their culture's thinking, a good chunk in the leading edge and the great mass of course bringing up the rear, sticking with what has worked best for the longest (tradition). So when people claim to be free I find it best to prod, poke, see where on the the continuum they actually are and then responding as appropriate to help them along from where they are at. Not good is assuming everyone can instantly jump to wherever you are on the spiral. Best of all is minding your own wisdom and growing it.

Most people need to go through some kind of de-programming. Ask yourself why you believe certain things , why do you do and justify them?

If you don't believe there's a need to analyze some of your core values, change is impossible.

For instance, most of us have been give a schematic on our lives are to be led. From religion to education, family/marriage and careers, certain things are expected of us and those who stray from such plans can be labeled, ridiculed, discriminated against and so forth. There's no room for individualism.

To de-program yourself, you have to say f-it and decide that from now on, I will live my life my way. No need to explain yourself to anybody. As long as you're not self-destructive and don't negatively impact other people's lives, NO ONE should influence your life more than you. Period.

Like Ladronaso stated, it takes COURAGE and confidence.

Last night, I was at a Holiday party. Among the guests were "Black and White" Americans from various backgrounds, Dominicans, Puerto-Ricans, Trinidadians, Haitians, Bajans. A sprinkle of Jews, Middle easterns, Asians, Russians etc...

We all got along and some of us are very good friends. So, I asked myself, where are all the nationalists and racists? Are they hiding behind fake smiles or just for convenient moments overlook our differrences?

The biggest brainwash that we've been subjected to are that of Race ,Nationality and Religion. Instead of taking those things as sources of pride and culture and share with our fellow brothers and sisters, we have used them to humiliate, subjugate and enslave each other.