Reactionary Thinking

What does it mean to be reactionary...well, it means to exist and be characterized by reaction to another cause. Isn't this what we always do? I mean, we react always/already to the causes in our world.

But what about in a different sense?

Well, for a Marxist a reactionary is a bad thing to be, as opposed to a revolutionary.

Okay, any other senses?

How's about being a reactionary thinker? That is, we all have an immediate reaction to the concept/idea/proposition we encounter.

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Concept : "Ban the Burka!" (Perhaps happening in the Nederlands)
Reaction: Oh My God! Can we stop just hating on Muslims already?

Concept : "There is no such thing as an absolute moral standared"
Reaction: Oh My God! Nazi's are okay! Bigots are okay! Rape is okay!

Concept : "The police protected fascists who spoke in Toledo."
Reaction: Oh My God! The Police must like the fascists!

Concept : "Applying to Doctoral Programs in Philosophy is like a crap-shoot."
Reaction: Oh My God! I have no control over this situation!?!
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There is nothing wrong with these immediate reactions; in fact it seems that some folks with greater or lesser knowledge on the situation might have valid, accurate, thoughtful reactions.

But it seems to me that relying (even if we are intelligent/rational/thoughtful people) on this reactionary response is going to be detrimental in all cases to our abilities as Critical Thinkers. In some cases we may find our reactionary response as accurate after further review - but even in these cases we have done something to hurt our abilities as Critical Thinkers. What have we done? We've re-affirmed reactionary responses. We've given validation to an form of reasoning that will often lead us down slippery slopes, through false dillemmas, and past hasty conclusions.

Could there be a valid reason why the police protected neo-nazis? Sure, perhaps a belief in the value of the freedom of speech...perhaps a more pragmatic approach that less harm and danger (in the sum total) will come from the lack of having a Nazi assaulted. Is applying to Phd programs a crap shoot? Maybe, but we still have multiple things we control about how we are presented on this gamble. Is the "ban on burkas" deliberatly targetting Muslims? Possibly, but are there valid reasons for wanting people in an open society to be able to see each other's faces? Does stating that there isn't an absolute morality prohibit us from condemning many actions becase those actions don't fit our absolute moral standard? Sure, but that doesn't rule out other reasons for condemning those actions based on a relative standard.

The point is, that our reactions are detrimental for the development of a larger viewpoint or basis of perspective. We need to stop this reactionary thinking, and jumping to these conclusions.