I am posting these here. They remain quite relevant and appropriate today:

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Bertrand Russell’s “Liberal Decalogue” is his set of ten “commandments” for clear thinking, intellectual humility, and democratic argument. It appeared in his 1951 New York Times Magazine essay, “The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism.”

1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
2. Do not think it worthwhile to produce belief by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
3. Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed.
4. When you meet opposition, overcome it by argument, not authority.
5. Have no respect for the authority of others, because contrary authorities can always be found.
6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think harmful, because the opinions will suppress you.
7. Do not fear being eccentric in opinion, because every accepted opinion was once eccentric.
8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than passive agreement.
9. Be scrupulously truthful, even when truth is inconvenient.
10. Do not envy the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise.

In plain English: stay humble, follow evidence, argue with reasons, protect dissent, and tell the truth even when it costs you. For educators, it reads like a compact critical-thinking code.

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At work, I got in trouble for speaking up about something. The boss didn’t like it. I found myself being ignored as a result, and there was a tension through out the meeting afterwards. Later, my boss called me in. She wanted to know why I confronted her about the issue, why I had marshaled my arguments, then sent them out to die in desert of neglect, shame, and embarrassment.

I told her. “You needed to act on it. You kept silent and this was something that had to be said in a meeting with everyone present.”

She took half-hearted action and pretended to do what needed to be done, then held those actions up as her own idea. But, you see, we all knew. Nothing would have happened if I hadn’t said something, not to embarrass, not to challenge, but to say something out loud and bear witness.

It happened so long ago but the lesson I learned remains.

And you, today, can do whatever you want because, in the end, something had to be said. And if you are reading this, then you know it, too. Maybe you will be the better for it.

As for me, I don’t care. I would rather be dead Ned Stark at the end of book one than any of the bootlickers for a temporary king.