This particular “Truth Potato” quote—”Question every rule, tradition, belief, and stereotype there is”—sounds intelligent, wise, and perhaps not profound, yet it seems to fall on deaf ears.
A Pew Research Center study found that more than 85% of American children share their parents’ religious and political beliefs. Parents also told Pew researchers that it’s important for their kids to hold the same political beliefs as them, but it’s even more important that the kids share their parents’ religious beliefs.
So question beliefs?
That’s not really happening, either. Your belief in the spiritual construct of the universe is likely not based on meaningful introspection, careful study, and deep thought.
Instead, it was determined by simple indoctrination:
Your parents thought it was important that you believe the same thing they believed, so they spent lots of time convincing you that they were right and everyone who believed other things was wrong when you were young and especially impressionable.
And it’s likely you agreed and never looked back.
As a result, your beliefs and traditions almost certainly match your parents’, and therefore, even their stereotypes likely match your own.
“Question every rule, tradition, belief, and stereotype” sounds like an admirable pursuit, but it’s also a lonely one.
Sadly, very few people do so.
