Each of us has been gifted with our own mind, and the highest usage of such a mind, is the search for truth and meaning, especially when such a search is actuated by that particular person's mind, as opposed to simply absorbing information as if everything is true that a given person says, or a teacher states, or that an advertisement suggests to us.
When we are young and vulnerable, we must believe that those that are bigger than us, such as our parents, or teachers, or other authoritarian figures, are right in what they say, for to question everything, when our minds and bodies are just developing, would endanger us too often, for to experience the full power of electricity could electrocute us, or to trust a stranger could severely harm us, as well as to run blindly across a busy street, could kill us.
However, there comes a point, when a reasonable and a maturing person, desiring to verify things that they have been taught, should if they are prudent, begin to question and to independently verify some things, such as scientists do, when they take the same given conditions, and demonstrate the accuracy of theories and methodologies, for to just accept things without ever questioning them, or investigating such, does a disservice to one's independent mind and curiosity.
Those that refuse to think, that thereby forswear to or don't desire to improve their mind, are basically those people that don't really learn and grow, but instead are indoctrinated into the prevailing mindset of whomever their teacher is, and are thereby inculcated by such. The danger of such an indoctrination is that these people believe things without having really studied or learned them, so that, they have essentially been molded into certain beliefs, that will inevitably favor those that have placed such beliefs into their minds, and consequently are thereby easily capable of being duped into performing actions that aren't right, and can even be inimical to their own life or livelihood.
Instead, great minds are thinking minds that will view things from a different and more enlightened perspective, or are able to take knowledge and develop further from that foundation so as to benefit mankind more. Of course, from a selfish governmental state perspective, those that think can endanger the state if those thoughts are outside the orthodox state beliefs of the day, and thereby the state makes it their point, to impress upon its citizenship, that each person has a higher and patriotic duty to do right by the state, as defined by that state and therein lies the rub, for what if the state is wrong, and not slightly wrong, but wrong fundamentally, what then?
This then comes back to the very first postulate, which is to do right, and that viewpoint of what is right and wrong, should come from the understanding and the comprehension of the wisdom of others, moral ethics, and the usage of one's mind to sort things out, correctly. This means, that a man that cannot get beyond mere indoctrination, is a tool of that indoctrination mindset, whereas he that can think, has the power to stand strong in the face of adversity or demagoguery, so as to not violate their conscience, and to be worthy of emulation for having used well their freedom and strong development of their mind.