They're afraid for their children's future.
I'm all for introducing critical thinking into every classroom—but believe it's unlikely to happen.
So what's a parent to do?
Let your children play with a razor.
The handiest tool in the critical thinking chest is Ockham's Razor.
In logic, Ockham’s Razor, named for a 14th-century philosopher, is the "law of simplicity."
Ockham's Razor cuts through bullshit by insisting pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate ("plurality should not be posited without necessity").
As such, the law opposes complexity (plurality) and favors simplicity (unity): whenever you have two competing theories, the simpler one is the right one.
Ockham's Razor can cut bullshit positions to shreds in only seconds, which is why you should let your kids play with it.
Here are just three examples.
Trump's election loss
The GOP insists Trump lost the 2020 election because Democrats in swing states conspired either to alter votes for Trump, discard votes for Trump, inflate the number of votes for Biden, or some combination of all of the above.
The simpler explanation of Trump's loss: the majority of American voters favored his replacement.
Child molestation
The GOP insists all gays molest children because all gays are predatory. It further insists that anyone who molests a child must be gay. Lastly, the party claims any gay who denies that he or she is sexually attracted to children is lying.
The simpler explanation for child molestation: some men fixate on children as a result of developmental problems occurring in utero. Adult sexual preference has nothing to do with pedophilia.
Mass shootings
The GOP insists mass shootings result from evil and are an inevitable "price of freedom." They can only be curbed by increasing the number of armed "good guys."
The simpler explanation of mass shootings: the ready availability of guns enables aggrieved individuals to act out their fantasies. Boosting the supply of guns will only facilitate these acts.
Now it's your turn, parents.
Give your kids a razor to play with. It will make them razor sharp!
