Free Your Mind
Rejecting Authority is the only way to see true reality.
If your mind is being influenced by external source, ie: other people, then any concept you form in your mind is subject to any irrationalities and non sequiturs that those other sources have used.
Let me explain using the most dominant and irrational form of authority in today’s world, religion. Religion controls billions of people using concepts not based on reality. It tells people how to think, and what moral guidelines to follow. Worst of all though, it undermines the most basic concepts of reality, and becomes the entire foundation for one’s thinking.
As a child, you see the world around you only in reality. It is all you know. However as you are exposed to religion by adults, your grasp on reality is instantly shattered. You no longer think by the same set of rules. By believing in something that cannot be proven, you now see the world through eyes of faith, and then, nothing is out of the bounds of possibility. From the moment your mind has faith, you no longer see reality.
Following on from this, you look to be guided in every area of your life. You no longer think for yourself. Once you believe that something is watching over you, ruling you, and everything you do is answerable to by this imaginary being, you become afraid. You want to ensure you’re doing the right thing so you don’t go to hell or wherever it is you’re being threatened with. So you begin to follow all authority. Before you know it, you have no mind of your own and are unable to make decisions unless you follow the rules of all authority.
“Thinking men cannot be ruled.” – Ayn Rand