Yanky:
“Yes, it IS a problem that a Ben Torah cannot think for himself. My own Rav is overwhelmed with nahrisha kashes (partly) because of this.”
Yes, I agree that bnei Torah should know the halachos on their own. However, the problem is in this lack of knowledge, not in the fact that they consult daas Torah when they do not know what to do.
“there are times when seichel has to take precedence over the halachah as written in Shulchan Aruch”
I’m not sure exactly how the added words “as written in Shulchan Aruch” change your comment. Care to elaborate? Or at least to name me such a case? Until then, my previous comment still stands.
“call me an apikores if you like”
No, an apikores is (among other things) somebody who denies the validity of the Torah. You surely agree that the Torah was given by Hashem, yet you appear (to the best of my understanding) to feel that one does not need to follow the Torah when one does not feel like it. This may make you somewhat of an idiot (if you believe the Torah is from Hashem, how can you possibly qualify what Hashem said? Do you think your smarter than God?!), not strictly “religious”, and a whole host of other things, but it doesn’t make you an apikores.