Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

While serious thinking about important matters may disturb people in the short term, it benefits them immeasurably in the long term. Only by confronting unpleasant truths and by weighing both sides of complex issues can people understand the facts—whether in history, politics, literature, or their own lives—and make appropriate decisions. People may find it difficult, or uncomfortable, to think seriously about important matters, but not doing so means that they are leading lives without meaning or purpose.

Does every individual have an obligation to think seriously about important matters, even when doing so may be difficult?  
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.