The Modern Gadfly

The Modern Gadfly is the person who critics and questions certain aspects of life. Socrates made people examine their lives and beliefs. Voltaire mocks and criticized many concepts in Candide. I think that in today's society, everyone has a little gadfly in them.

So many integral components of our lives are drilled into us from day. Often times we’re influenced by our parents and pressured by society to think and behave a certain way. These things are drilled into us starting the day we are born.

Many people probably go along with their lives, but i think that somewhere at some point in time everyone has at least wondered. As we grow older, i believe, we start to question or at least examine some of these concepts. Have we been looking at a cave wall our entire lives? I think the Gadfly in all of us sometimes questions what we know. It goes back to the unexamined life. I think in today’s society, we all to some extent examine life and are all to some extent the “modern gadfly”.

However, sometimes our gadfly moments are short and infrequent. I think sometimes people are very quick to analyze aspects of their lives and just as quickly to dismiss their findings. On the other hand, I think there are few people continue with their investigation and critique of life and alter their beliefs and ideals accordingly.

         I think Stephan Hawking is a prominent modern gadfly. Over the years he has established himself as someone who uses science to contradict many generally accepted phenomena such as religion and the creation of the universe. I think that while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, figures such as Hawking overstep by over critiquing other peoples beliefs. The Gadfly is useful in helping people to make sense of their lives but it becomes a problem when that critique is offense and intolerant. 

           I personally wonder rather the gadfly is good or are we better off without it. I question the intentions of the gadfly. Is it here to help us analyze our lives? Or to poke holes in everything we believe? I think that while there is a little gadfly in all of us, to a certain extent we have to limit the influences it has on our lives and decisions and what we truly believe.