Category: Let's talk
All this gibble-gabble over the open or closed mind got me to thinking and of course to searching on Google for articles or opinion pieces to see what made sense to me. So I read an article which claimed that this whole thing about open minds being a good thing is a trap. Those who wish for you to have an open mind want you to judge nothing, criticize nothing, question or examine nothing, but to just accept all input as good, whether it's rational or irrational. They want you to be passive and be more a kind of yes-man automaton. But to have a closed mind means first of all you're a royal pain in the ass for society, because society wants you to be passive and obey. Closing your mind means you're weighing and judging all your input, running it through pro and con filters, and being active instead of passive in thinking and questioning and being skeptical and critical. So I'm proud I have a closed mind, because it means I'm thinking about things and I have values and things that seem to work for me. No, they're not for everybody and I'm not in the business of generating clones of myself, but it is something to think about, and I don't even have to kill off any main characters to prove the point. LOL!
By the way, the offer on the Chocolate-hazlenut coffee of the other Board is still on and trust there are some of them oatmeal cookies still to be had...
Now for some thots of mine *Drum roll please *Lol
...thinking the problem lies when persons are more Mindless and without thot conveyed
like somewhere along the line they were so Open-Minded that every bit of sense left them or they went in the opposite direction and rather took in everything and went on brain collapse ...or...
so Close-Minded that nothing at all filters through, either incoming or outgoing.. just stagnant
Maybe it’s the labels (open - closed) that are the hindrance to these thots of mine
Whether or no another agrees or disagrees with me…well, to me what I should desire the most is an explanation. For another to not simply be a “Yes-person” to me or on the other way of thinking, one that discounts what I say like in a pre-judgmental sort of way…
You know, to give me a reason for the, “yes I agree,” or the “no I think what you say has no merit” thots…
laters,
Connie ~ Grace
Oh if I disagree I always explain why. And yeah, I think terminology can be one's downfall as to this open and closed thing, because it's a product of the all-or-nothing or black-and-white type of thinking. There's no middle ground, there's no grey area. It's either one thing or the other thing and there are only those two choices. Bit on the limitted side, eh what?
I'm just concerned that being closed minded automatically means I'll have to vote republican when I'm eventually eligible! hehe. So I'll have to stay open minded for now in spite of the initial post!
Dan.
Many people use terms like open-minded or broad-minded as a justification for intellectual or moral laziness, rather than real discernment, so I avoid getting sucked into pointless discussions about who is being open-minded or closed-minded.
Dan your a demecrat? That's it!!! No more man love for you from me until you realize the error of your ways and vote republican! Mcane 08
I agree, and what you said right there is part of the point of why I created the topic. It's kind of like calling somebody out for being a hypocrite, or calling somebody out for a lot of other labels. My response is who really gives a damn in the first place? Hahahaha!
Oh, Harp, I dunno. I bet there are lots of close-minded democrats out there, too. You could always become one of those holier-than-thou animal rights people or something like that. Hehehehe!
People who assume open-mindedness gives them a moral highground over people they judge to be closed-minded get on my nerves. It is possible to have a closed mind if you have concluded your thinking on an issue and reached a judgement you believe is correct. The thing about open-mindedness though is, that people who call for others to be more open-minded aren't really wanting them to be open-minded. They're wanting them to agree. The fact they believe that they are right and open-minded though shows that they have a closed mind. Surely the only way to have an open mind is if you have not made a judgement about an issue or formed an opinion or are unsure of your opinion. So you're open to different perspectives which then may enable you to close your mind.
Well, having an open mind doesn't mean saying yes to everything, it means being accepting of people's differences. I'm not saying that having a closed mind is a horrible thing, (because I am using open-mindedness to see the advantages of it), but personally I find it boring to be limited to certain ideas.
I guess it depends on your definition of open-minded. I'd never heard that which was posted in the first post...For me it's simply being willing to consider other options and/or ideas; even if I feel strongly on a subject. I'm still willing to listen and consider someone else's point of view, but I'm not saying close-minded is necessarily bad...Everybody is different after all. Hope this made since...Been up all night. LOL!
Well having read the first post about open-mindedness meaning being passive and all that, I would describe myself as open minded.