Just do as you're told...

   One thing I will have to say that my parents instilled in me from an early age is confidence. Confidence in myself, but also confidence to question authority, ask questions, and to stand up for what you know is right. We never had this blindly follow authority type attitude in our house. I remember as a kid, my parents saying in certain circumstances that involved myself or my brothers and another adult, that just because they're the adult doesn't mean that their right. I may have heard a "you may be smarter than them" on a few occasions too. Now don't get me wrong, we weren't raised to be defiant or rude, we were raised to be critical thinkers. 
   The world needs more critical thinkers, our country was founded by critical thinkers. People that one day said, I don't like how this is going, or I think we can do it better ourselves. I took a class called Critical Thinking my freshman year in college. At first I thought it was a very weird class, and that my teacher was definitely a hippie. But looking back, it was probably one of the most impacting classes I have ever taken. 
   Now nobody likes the annoying kid asking why over and over, but when we shut them down for asking questions, or give them the "cuz I said so...". What are we teaching them?
   Too many times I run in to patients who as I take their health history, and I ask them about the medications that they are on they have no idea what they are for. Or why they are on them, or even worse how long does their doctor think they are going to have to be on them. Now if you don't even know what drugs you are on, how in the world are you going to do something to change your current situation? As Americans we put doctors on a pedestal, wait why am I saying this I'm a doctor, and we never ask why. They are the doctor right? They shouldn't be questioned right? They know everything right? Everything they do is always in me best interest right? I don't know, why don't you ask!
   You see, my critical thinking has led me to some core beliefs that I now hold sacred. For example, I have thought long and hard, with research, and came to the conclusion that I don't agree with the CDC recommended vaccine schedule. Do you think a child from birth to adolescence should receive 86 shots? I don't. You have a very piece of equipment between you ears, use it. And teach your kids not just to learn, but to question everything that they learn.

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