Reason

Reason is dangerous. It is the basis of freedom. Universities were the temples of reason which helped fuel the thinking, discovery and technological breakthroughs that began with a period of history called the Renaissance. It was the rebirth of the ideal of human spirit free of the shackles of superstition and unverified faith. The good it produced was a period of growth, exploration and building that produced our current economies and nations.

The danger is when freedom threatens the basis of power. When power is based on control and not inspiration, those who value reason, freedom and have something to contribute, will protest. The powerful have resorted to oppression, authoritarianism, control, discrimination, victory over reason. Hitler wrote about this: “The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.”

Poikilothermic (cold blooded) animals like frogs whose body temperature is that of their surroundings, can be cooked by putting them in cool water and gradually heating it. They won't struggle. This is the case in any group that chooses to manipulate instead of fostering the spirit. Children unfortunately are the most vulnerable. That's why Hitler wrote: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”

The picture shows Stockholm whose Renaissance architecture is so beautiful. Freedom based on inspiring each other to progress based on expressing the human spirit of love, discovery, expression, hope, dreams... is like the rainbow that appears so rarely. Freedom like rainbows needs a cloudy sky and a little sunshine.

If history is any indication, reason can make beauty and even our mistakes can be overcome.