We start out life helpless. Our parents clothe us, feed us, and give us shelter. They also give us important information - "Don't put you're hand on the stove its hot! It will burn you." We experiment. "Yep, that did burn me. Mom was right." We learn to have faith in those who have authority.

Some people never move past this blind faith. They never deeply question authority.

But most of us discover that some of the things our parents told us wasn't true. There is no Santa Clause. No, the kids didn't think those shoes were cool. Sorry Mom, but there is a difference between culottes and jams.

If you're like most people at some point in your adolescence you become a bit of a cynic. Maybe it was high school, or while taking some college course on philosophy, or the first time you moved out on your own. Maybe it was when you were presented with irrefutable evidence that the world is different in some profound way than you were taught as a child. Your faith (religious and otherwise) is shaken and hobbled for a time.

So you try on a pseudo-sophisticated persona where everything is doubted. "The Man" says its white so you jump to the conclusion that it must black.

But most people take another step. You learn that just assuming that all authority is 100% wrong takes you further from reality than being a blind follower. "White" turns out to be a pale shade of gray.

There's a spectrum:

Actually, in practice, its more like this:

As we live life we're always trying to find the right balance blind faith and cynicism. Sometimes we come down on one side, sometimes the other. Perhaps distrust for a leader caused you to believe things about him that just isn't true. It happens to both Democrats and Republicans. Ask Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Or maybe you trust too much. That happens on both sides of the aisle too.

The best decisions, whether we're predicting the future or picking a leader, are made by people who are trying to find the right balance.

This post was inspired, in part, by a Penn & Teller video Harvey pointed us to: "9/11 Conspiracy Theories." Language advisory.