I Hate the Term “Free-Thinker”

To be candid, I loathe much of the political parlance and buzzwords of the day; words like political correctness, cancel culture, virtue signaling, identity politics, cultural Marxism and more.

My main criticism is not necessarily that these words describe phenomena that don’t exist at all, but more so that they’ve become purely connotative; words with no technical meaning that get adopted across the political as attack towards the Left for behavior often more prevalent on the Right. For example, if these words have apolitical definitions, trying to get someone fired for not standing during the anthem could and should be described as a kind of cultural Marxism where you cancel someone for not signaling the politically correct virtue.

But as we wade through the torrents of disinformation in a global pandemic, the term “free-thinker” has been used more often in popular discourse. This comes as many politicians, entertainers and professional athletes refuse to get vaccinated. As the world wrestles with this public health crisis, the term “free-thinker” has become as irksome as ever.

Deeming oneself a free-thinker is a way to convey that you won’t be bullied into believing something you don’t. The beliefs you have, the conclusions you reach can’t be coerced into conformity by peers and the broader society. Many free-thinkers believe they have insights others don’t because they don’t fall for the traps the powers-that-be spring on the masses. In essence, it’s a declaration that you won’t allow your mind to be…