One of the great things about living in this country is that our freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression are guaranteed by the 1st amendment to the constitution. However, even with this great freedom, most people tend to act, behave, dress, eat, walk, talk, and believe the same!

A Freethinker engages in exhaustive exploration outside of the given predominant cultural or religious philosophy he or she lives in. Chances are if you were born in India, you'll be Hindu, born in Iran and you'll most likely be Muslim, and if you're born in China you'll probably be a Buddhist. Most of us born here in the US of A are born into the Judeo-Christian philosophy. We never question. Our parents, our relatives, our neighbors, or friends or all join in assuring us that the predominant religous philosophy is "fact" and we grown up indoctrinated. A freethinker rises above the cultural indoctrination and sees all of humanity, all of nature, all of history (that can be known) and forms his or her own conclusions. And sometimes that conclusions on these kinds of questions will be that we just don't have enough information to say for certain.

Break the chains of understanding. Strip away all your preconceived notions about who you believe we are, how you believe we got here, where you believe we're going. It's all been programmed into us by our culture. Very few of us really truly dig deep enough to ask these crucial questions and not just accept the first answer we're told.

It's a wonderful feeling to be a freethinker. So that if you're mother has always told you that chocolate is bad for you and that it will make your face break out in zits and so you've never tried chocolate. Ask yourself "is this really true," "is this what I see with other people around me," "what do the history books say," "I'll ask Bob how he feels about chocolate." You may just find that mother was wrong (or was hogging all the chocolate for herself) and that you have an absolutely orgasmic gastronomic experience without breaking out in pimples afterall.