On Monday, an article in the Daily’s opinion page presented the belief that events like 9-11 cannot happen if we simply root out and destroy vast, secret conspiracies of evildoers hiding in our government.

Not agreeing with this view, he says, makes people “sheeple”. It feels like just yesterday that we were told that events like 9-11 could not happen if we simply rooted out and destroyed vast, secret conspiracies of evildoers hiding in and around the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Not agreeing with this line of action made people “anti-American,”according to the conventional wisdom at the time.

Thinking freely is not just a matter of disagreeing with the most commonly held beliefs around us.

Yes, it means not accepting ideas as true solely because someone in authority or someone we like said they are true.

Just as much, it means not rejecting ideas as false solely because someone we dislike or distrust said it was true.

It does human reasoning a disservice to draw conclusions simply because we are told that doing otherwise will make us the pawns of conspiracies or for fear of becoming “sheeple” or other caricatures.