The Right To Think

Thinking…does it really require a right to be expressed? People have always possessed the way of “thinking”, however it has not always been legal to use, so to speak. Whether we know it or not we have not always had the freedom to express our thoughts and stick up for what we believe in. It seems odd today, having the rights that we do, but in the 1920’s you simply did not have the right to think and it was never opposed. Until the John Scopes “Monkey Trial” put it to the test. Like Dana said, our right to think is all thanks to those who dared to be different. John Scopes was testing his right to think without even realizing it. Drummond made this concept clear to everyone in his audience that the hidden meaning behind the trail was that we all should have the right to express our own opinions.

I agree with what Matt said about how today we are asked our opinions, and almost required to voice them but back then this would be almost unheard of. It is simply unreasonable to even imagine being a criminal just by expressing your thoughts. Drummond was the spokesperson of every voice with a mind. Every person should have been fighting for their right to think from the very beginning. I am so thankful for this trial in the past because it led up to the gaining of our right of freedom of speech.

Honestly I had never thought about the right to think before I read Inherit The Wind to this extent. I believe that people today are not ungrateful of this right but just simply unaware of it. We form our own opinions without even realizing that we are doing so. I used to express my own opinions all the time during school, at home, anywhere I would go while taking for granted that others were willing to listen to me and take what I have to say to heart. Now knowing that we did not always have this privilege I feel thankful to express my opinion and share it with others. By these freedoms we can all expand our horizons of understanding others and variety of expression.