A Celebration of Closed Minds
Closed Minded – having a mind firmly unreceptive to new ideas or arguments.
All of us have closed minds in some regard or another; this is a condition of humanity and a normal survival mechanism. There is something that we each believe and have faith in that cannot be shaken or disturbed, no matter how much information is given or shown to us about why our belief set is illogical.
Having a closed mind is not a negative thing, in and of itself. If one did not have a set of morals and beliefs to live by, life would be chaos.
The issue with a closed mind surfaces when one takes his/her own set of beliefs and judges the lives of other humans by it.
In the past ten years, I have noticed an extreme rise in the level of bashing people do against those who disagree with them. It may just be that I have only been impartial and objective for the past ten years, but it truly seems this arrogant and ego-driven practice of taunting, ridiculing and being rude to others in an attempt to humiliate them has become a celebrated cultural norm in the US. This is never more apparent than when the subjects of politics and religion enter the picture.
In the US, right now, there is a battle going on for the seat of the highest post in the government: President of the United States. There is an incumbent candidate and a challenging candidate from the opposite political party. The country is, for all intents and purposes, split evenly over which person will be “better” for the country and the well-being of its citizens in the upcoming four years of the winner’s term in office.
The current hot topics are: the economy, foreign relations, healthcare, and various aspects of human/civil rights. These topics awaken the passions and motivations of many citizens in different ways and at different times. This is acceptable.
What I find, however, to be unacceptable is the actions some people take to prove how unequivocally correct their stances are. I feel embarrassment when I see a normal conversation turn into a shouting match over one small difference in opinion. I feel sadness when I see good friends become enemies over a difference in candidate preference. I feel shame when I see people ranting about other people’s opinions yet expecting their own opinions to be accepted and embraced by all. But most of all, I feel discouragement when I see that people will so readily turn to hate in defense of their stances.
Why is hate and division celebrated and promoted by celebrities, talk show hosts, talk radio hosts, churches, unions, employers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, and parents? Why are we so eager to hate other people? Why do we feel justified in hating other people for having a difference of opinion? Why has intolerance become the cornerstone of all political defenses?
Some of the more common exhibitions of intolerance and excuses for hateful behavior I see every day:
1) Us vs. Them: The belief and assumption that anyone who believes differently about one subject must believe differently about every subject.
2) The use of conjecture and speculation as proof of a point, despite factual evidence to the contrary.
3) The belief that one’s preferred candidate is truthful and genuine in all aspects, and anyone who disagrees must be prejudiced in some way.
4) The belief that the inconsistencies, changes in rhetoric, and proven falsities of one’s preferred candidate are just misunderstandings.
5) The belief that anyone who presents an opposing argument cannot be credible, should not be listened to, and does not deserve a chance to speak his/her mind.
6) The belief that anyone who interprets a set of evidence differently must have been influenced by an external source.
7) The belief and implication that anyone who disagrees must lack intelligence or cannot think for him/herself.
I am frustrated, folks. I am tired of this behavior. I feel like there is no hope for humanity, when we are still so blinded and angered by the opinions of other people.
Why do other people’s opinions bother you? Why do you expect your opinions to be accepted by everyone else? Why do you think you are right? How do you know?
I admit that I don’t know anything. I am a minuscule mote of matter in the massiveness of the universe. From my perspective, politics are completely useless when it comes to making what lives we are given as great as they can be.
Spending time with people, listening to their experiences and how those experiences have shaped their thought processes and beliefs, learning about one another’s differences, taking the time to understand how we all fit together, helping people, spending time in nature, taking the time to enjoy one’s existence… these are the things that are important. These are the things that make us the same.
We are all human. We are all here. We are all the same.
Why is this so hard to see?