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Allegedly, in the UK, a peculiar experiment involving some monkeys was once carried out. This is how the experiment was run: first, eight monkeys were contained in a huge cage. At the center of the cage, there was a ladder that led up to the top of the cage, where an opening led to freedom. The eight monkeys were then secretly watched using hidden cameras. Immediately a monkey tried to climb the ladder, ice cold water was sprayed into the cage. The water made the monkeys miserable, and also made the ambitious monkey forget about freedom. This was repeated every time a monkey tried to climb the ladder.
After a while, a curious behavior emerged from the monkeys. Whenever any monkey tried to climb the ladder, the other monkeys would set upon it, and beat the hell out of it. In due time, all the monkeys lost the motivation to climb the ladder, and they huddled on the floor, looking hopeless and miserable. At this point, one of the monkeys in the cage was removed, and replaced with a fresh monkey. Immediately, the new monkey spotted the ladder, and went for it. Upon which, with a lot of enthusiasm, the other monkeys beat the crap out of it. No water was sprayed into the cage this time.
The new monkey, in that situation, was of course confounded. It didn’t understand why it got beaten up. But then, it didn’t attempt climbing the ladder again. At this point, another monkey was released from the cage, and another, fresh monkey was introduced. This new monkey also tried the ladder, and got a nasty surprise from the others. The other new monkey also joined in this fight, happy, for once, that it wasn’t the victim. Once this happened, yet another monkey in the cage was replaced. The procedure was repeated until all the eight original monkeys had been replaced.
Now, there were eight new monkeys in the cage. None of them had ever been sprayed with ice cold water. So none of them knew why they were beating new comers that tried to climb the ladder. Nevertheless, whenever any new monkey tried to break this mysterious code of the cage, it would receive a heavy beating. This trend can now be sustained indefinitely, without ever using the ice cold water again.
In the human realms, a very similar scenario evolves. Initially, some people observe some events that they are able to relate, more or less consistently, with some particular consequence. So these people build up beliefs and rituals around this observed cause-and-effect relationship. But in due time, this relationship may break down, and cease being relevant. However, by then, the rituals and beliefs associated with it may be so strong, and so ingrained, that the people involved no longer bother verifying them. If new generations come up then, they will also inherit the obsolete rituals and beliefs, and continue passing them on.
In reality though, every generation bears forth a radical. This radical has the unique capability of examining age-old rituals and beliefs, and looking for the logic in them. When the radical finds such rituals void of logic, he or she abandons them. Sometimes, this may attract a few scrapes and bruises from the other people lying around. If the radical is not fully committed to the new perspectives, such backlash can be deterrent enough. And hence, down the generations, totally unfounded rituals and beliefs propagate, unhindered.
Since a society stuck in the past can never progress, it is the duty of each and every liberal mind to examine all rituals and beliefs, and openly discard those found to be void of logic and practicality. Nasty backlashes from the laggards and the brainwashed in the society are inevitable, but they should be borne with grace and pride. For, in the end, the integrity of the liberal mind is truly priceless, and no sacrifice for it is too big.