Closed minds vs open minds

I think it is the general lack of empathy , superficiality and instantaneousness of "modern" society, people are lazy and thinking about everything is a tiresome and perhaps painful process, it will atract unwanted criticism, and labeling, its just so much more easy to read a compact version, or hear it , see it.

Have you noticed how these days everyone reads someone else's opinion about a great classic? or they buy a book with quotations to memorize and look cool, but what about the context?, If the idea of a classical author was summed up in a phrase why would they bother to write entire documents?


Regarding Faiths and Religions, i had a very early problem whenever i asked my "religious adviser" why was "my" religion the right one, they would repeat "My Son, you just have to have faith. The Lord works in Mysterious ways!" , i could repeat the question in any way possible
and the answer was the same "Faith".

I would look in maps, and read about other countries, examine their strange shapes and exotic city names, and would learn that in this country religion is mostly X, in that one religion is mostly Y , Z, etc

So, i would wonder... If such an important thing such as the creation of the Universe, or the Earth is actually true, then of all the countries of Earth, why did it had to be mine to precisly get the right Religion?

I mean surely if i was born in a country where another religion was more predominant i would be a follower of such religion (even if socio-culturally speaking) , so why is my religion the right one? a Coincidence?
Or just because i was born here?

Of course to have this doubt, one must first assume that all countries should be viewed (at first) with equal eyes (or better still with fairness and unemotional impartiality)


But, like one poster clearly said ,it is about Ego indeed, too much Ego these days, being humble is looserish, hierarchy is only acceptable if one is on the upward spots. This is and other things is why i still think there is some purity in the Military (lets not generalize ) the acceptance of
there is someone above me, and its not the end of the world.

I also observed this in students, whatever their area of studies was, in their view it was the best, because of reason X, Y. They couldn't accept reality in any other way.

Why all this personal insecurity? Why does society ( ? ) pressures the individual to this point?

Is it that of a failure to not be filthy rich and perfect, and just have a simple life with food, some clothing (as protection for temperature variations), some money for an eventuality (a real need, not a Corvette), and having 0 debt, not owing 1 God damn cent to no one? and living a life of honesty?
is that SO bad?

Well, I think it is also important to consider timing. If a "close-minded" person is in the middle of an emotional crisis or significant event in their day, they may just not be able to commit the attentional resources required. Try them again on a different day when they are able to focus. I do believe that some people are chronically overloaded with stress to the point where they are unable to engage in creative thinking.

MaskedAvatar is right on the mark in terms of the alternative concept. This goes along with the generalized theme of problem-solving. Are the "close-minded" the types of people that enjoy being challenged? Or do they prefer a more routine and predictable lifestyle?

MK

In my opinion :

It's all about what the person believes is fact.

Open minded people will know a fact (to them anyways), but listen to others opinions on why that may not be fact.

Close minded people will ignore everything because they are convinced it is already fact.

I'm VERY open minded, but....
I think I'd be closed minded if someone told me I was really a woman and wanted to talk about it.
I might even get violent...maybe.
lol.
scary.

Todays american soceity is a badroom society, there is very little interaction with other people outside of work and education. And what we end up with is everyone in constant compitition with everyone else.. To this end we have an almost arrogance against opposing veiwpoints. to our own. For someone to disagree with us is to point out we are wrong, and instead of admiting they may be wrong they attack them verbally and ignore anything they have to say.

An open minded person listen to the others, and uses fact to support an opinon. I think some of my most enjoyable conversations have been with scholars and professional writers. Not becasue they know a lot, but love to discuss ideas and expand them to thier Nth degree

If you close the door to dialouge you are only deluding yourself

Todays american soceity is a badroom society, there is very little interaction with other people outside of work and education. And what we end up with is everyone in constant compitition with everyone else.. To this end we have an almost arrogance against opposing veiwpoints. to our own. For someone to disagree with us is to point out we are wrong, and instead of admiting they may be wrong they attack them verbally and ignore anything they have to say.

Are you calling me a woman????
(joke)

there is very little interaction with other people outside of work and education.

Um....we're not ALL from Wisconsin....

Boy, there are two or three people on this very board I would LOVE to ask this question to!
Sadly, but not surprisingly, they haven’t responded… as yet.

Two theories I have:

1. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
There are some people who really THINK they know what they’re talking about but really, haven’t a clue. So they end up too busy defending their own idea and have absolutely no interest in listening to anyone else’s. Oh and by the way, there's a big difference between hearing and listening.

2. People fear what they don’t understand. People attack what they fear.
This is true, especially in the US. We don’t even try to understand other points of view---instead we attack them! And why shouldn't we when our society, our culture, our televison, even our very government and politcal leaders advocate and reinforce this distructive attitude?