Forget labels. Open-mindedness and Close-mindedness is the REAL issue.

We live in a world that gives more acceptance to labeling yourself than anything else. Woman, man, gay, straight, religious, and the non. But if you have internet connection, and a search engine, why is it that we still are so close minded to others views? You can easily look up ANYTHING on the internet, so threads, posts, comments, and opinions are far and wide, yet we disagree as if OUR opinions are the only ones we can see.

When we had no such technology, and were forced to only be in our own bubbles, sure, being close minded was easy, and of course expected. If you only knew YOUR town, YOUR neighbors, YOUR area, of course your world view would be very secluded. That is NO longer the case. You can search anything you ever wanted to know, and of course you have to look at it all with a grain of salt, but its not for belief, but for information.

If you have never been to church, but you see movies with church goers, this is NOT a real world view. If you dont live in a poor neighborhood, but see them on television, then NO this is not a real world view, yet we spread screen plays, and hollywood writing as truth, and actors and actresses, directors and producers are more of what we write, and we dont really notice.

The internal struggle of the internet, and forums like this as a whole is not necessarily accidental, but made in a studio, whether it be a independent film, blockbuster hit, or news studio. We need to start being accountable, not just to the message we spread, but to start asking those writers, and the loudest people to show some proof of what they know.

I dont mean a resume, or degree, but to start being accountable to the strife that they cause, and start asking people what THEIR real world view is, AND how they got it. This will and can change the dynamic, of how we share, and who we listen to. Our world doesnt and is not based on our opinions on subjects, but on our experience. The same way you go to a job interview and have to show HOW you got your experience, it should apply at least partially to what you share and HOW you share it.

No one, (and I include myself of course) should only share half a** information, this is what is causing us to miss the bigger picture. To be distracted, because of course sensationalism, and the nonsense that we have come to know and accept, is keeping us stagnant, and confused.

a reply to: ThinkB4USpeak2Me

Closed-mindedness is often a result of fear: we openly mock or ridicule other that are different because many won't take the time or effort to understand different religions, sexual orientations, and nationalities and the beliefs/differences entailed. It's not only lazy, but disingenuous to dismiss others simply because they are different from ourselves. IMO, education leads to some tolerance. I say some because there are people that choose practices(Satanic worship, sex with children justified by religious belief, etc.) that are abhorrent to much of the population, and no amount of learning will sway their stance.

Generalization goes hand in hand with the practice of close-mindedness, in that many of us will lump entire groups of people based on the actions of the few. Look no further to derogatory posts blasting entire groups, like Christians, Democrats, Republicans, ethnic groups, etc. based on the actions of individuals. I've been guilty of both practices in the past, and it was reactionary and lazy of me to paint broad brushstrokes out of frustration. Information and education are great tools to get past the fear and loathing we have for others.

a reply to: ThinkB4USpeak2Me

Op you make too many assumptions.

Everyone does not form their oppinion based off of experiences, if you believe that, try leaving your house somtime.

Most peoples experiences are filtered through their oppinion.

If you are a black person who hates whitey for whatever reason, and you see a white person help a black person, you aren't going to just switch your oppinion.

In fact you are more likely to assume the white person was doing to gain somthing, not just doing it to be nice.

Whatever the white persons motives actually were

This of course doesn't even mention the fact, that if you are rich, I don't care how much you read about it, you will never know what it is like to be poor.

It can't be explained, it must be lived and experienced, to understand it, with just about anything.

In short, you entire op was pretty much assumptive and full of ignorance.

Nothing you said in it is any more than wishful thinking musings, by what I assume to be a young person that has little realworld experience.

Star and flag for the effort though

a reply to: johnwick

This of course doesn't even mention the fact, that if you are rich, I don't care how much you read about it, you will never know what it is like to be poor.

Many monetarily rich people started out monetarily poor. One can be rich but not have a large bank account.

a reply to: johnwick

Well you pretty much proved my point. What I wrote was that more people SHOULD base their opinion on experience, and if they do not have it, BEFORE they say/write anything there are plenty of places to get it, especially in this technological age.

I would definitely prefer to avoid those people who exhibit demerit behaviors. However, that doesn't mean I don't care for fellow humans. I am not looking to hang out with people that have different values than me, but I can still treat them respectfully when our paths cross.

a reply to: johnwick

If you are a black person who hates whitey for whatever reason, and you see a white person help a black person, you aren't going to just switch your oppinion.

In fact you are more likely to assume the white person was doing to gain somthing, not just doing it to be nice.

Whatever the white persons motives actually were

Assumptions, perhaps that random act of kindness is what turned a racist into a friend or potential friend, then again there is the old adage no good deed goes unpunished both is possible depending on the individual hater, I had folks who told me they hated Blk folks but were turned by a great experience with a single blk individual, I can only assume that a racist black person may have similar experience.
The larger question about Open-mindedness and Close-mindedness is now a politicized issue , what does open mindedness really mean. some say that Libs who are for certain issues like gay rights are the one being closed minded and won't allow for the rights of Christians or fundamentalist of whatever faiths to practice their beliefs by discriminating against gays regardless of court ruling.. pls note I am just using the gay rights issue as an example.
In a news feed a Muslim woman airline stewardess filed a complaint against an airline because she did'nt want to serve passengers alcohol , am I being closed minded if I were to tell her to piss off and go get me my f-king beer or find life elsewhere ?? or should I be open minded to her situation as a person of faith and do with water instead.

Muslim Flight Attendant Files Complaint Because Airline Expects Her To Serve Drinks To Passengers - See more at: www.aviationfigure.com...[ /b]

edit on 7-9-2015 by Spider879 because: (no reason given)

I sort of agree with you OP.

But we don't live in that society. Today tolerance has morphed into something more akin to approval. It isn't enough to merely tolerate others with whom you disagree - and we've all seen tolerance. If you've ever had a cat and a dog in your house, you've likely seen plenty of tolerance on both sides. It's one ignoring or even stiffly avoiding the other more often than not without doing any real damage to it.

And that's where I'd like to be at with a lot of things. I cannot condone or approve of them, no matter what society has decided, but I don't want to actively seek to stop people bent on them. Rather I would wish people to come to their own conclusions in time.

The problem is that larger society is obsessed with no one feeling bad, and if I tolerate, I risk signaling my mere tolerance - stiff avoidance or ignoring - it can make someone else "feel bad" which is then morphed into "hatred" no matter what I am actually feeling about it. It's great when people presume to read your mind and tell you what you really feel. So pressure is brought to bear to make me compromise my own standards and principles, to make me feel bad. Because I guess my bad feelings are less valid than someone else's bad feelings because society as a whole has decided they will not tolerate my principles.