Thanks Rose

[Gonz]

What constitutes a closed mind?

Is accepting alternative life styles, choices, ideologies, etc the basis of an open mind?

Is accepting those things, blindly, a sign of someone not willing to make a stand?

Which offends you? Somebody that has looked into certain or all aspects of (fill in the blank) & decided that there is something wrong with (fill in the blank) or somebody that decides that anything goes & as long as I'm not hurt it's okay by me?

Where do YOU make a stand? Why?

 

[Squiggy]

How shall I smite thee?...Let me count the ways... Back soon as I can calculate the number...

 

[rrfield]

What constitutes a closed mind?

I can think of a few ways to answer this one. One, someone whos mind cannot be changed. Two, someone who is unable or unwilling to listen to or give time to another point of view.

Is accepting alternative life styles, choices, ideologies, etc the basis of an open mind?

Someone elses alternative life style, choice, ideology, etc are usually none of someone else's business, unless they harm someone other then the person making these choices or living these life styles.

I can already tell where this is going and the major points of disagreements will be centered around what is harmful to others or society. Is homosexuality harmful to society? Is abortion harmful to society? Are the Green Bay Packers harmful to society? And so on.

Is accepting those things, blindly, a sign of someone not willing to make a stand?

Not everyone wants to make a stand.

Which offends you? Somebody that has looked into certain or all aspects of (fill in the blank) & decided that there is something wrong with (fill in the blank) or somebody that decides that anything goes & as long as I'm not hurt it's okay by me?

Neither offends me. Not much offends me. Of the two, I fall into the latter category, though. More often then not I will look into things; not to make a judgement, but to gain a better understanding from another point of view.

Where do YOU make a stand? Why?

By the toilet. The neighbors hate it when I piss on their car. *rimshot* I'm here all night, folks.

I don't presently take many stands, though I'm sure that will change at some point in my life. For one year I lived with a right-winged activist. For two years I lived with a left-winged activist. These experiences made me an activist against activism.

rrfield

 

[Gonz]

Are the Green Bay Packers harmful to society?

Well, yea. But that goes in the Sports & Entertainment forum

 

[Rose]

What constitutes a closed mind?

Is accepting alternative life styles, choices, ideologies, etc the basis of an open mind?

Is accepting those things, blindly, a sign of someone not willing to make a stand?

Which offends you? Somebody that has looked into certain or all aspects of (fill in the blank) & decided that there is something wrong with (fill in the blank) or somebody that decides that anything goes & as long as I'm not hurt it's okay by me?

Where do YOU make a stand? Why?

I really didn't mean to start anything, Gonz. I was just making an observation. In said thread (the one that brought this thread to being), you seemed, to me, very close minded. closed minded? Whatever. Perhaps that's not the exact wording I meant, but it seemed to fit my thoughts.

While differing opinions are required for meaningful debate, there are ways of presenting such opinions in a respectful manner. Now, I don't mean to imply that you didn't do this, nor that you were disrespectful to anyone.

But it seems, in said debate, that no matter what was presented you shrugged it off. And when one member finally had their share, stated their opinions and reasonings, you countered with "I win". :s

Perhaps it just rubbed me wrong or I misinterpreted it wrong. But I still stick by my observation.

Now, as for accepting others ideologies and opinions blindly - that's not a good thing for anyone. People should be open to hearing other's opinions and sides of the story, while keeping their own opinion intact. If a person feels strongly about something, then chances are there is little that anyone can say, do, or present that will change said person's opinions. Which is fine. Everyone needs a bit of skepticism in the world, I think.

As for where I stand, fortunately I don't stand often. As you might have noticed, or might not have, I rarely get involved in strong debates unless I feel a need to speak up. I enjoy reading through the opinions of the members on the board and keeping mine to myself or sharing them as I see fit. I feel strongly on very few things because I know the full story of very few things.

As for offence, I try to rarely get offended. And even more rarely will I get offended by someone on the internet. I kinda find that silly and a waste of time. But perhaps that's just me. No, I do not like people who follow the crowd and accept blindly what other's say without hearing the full story or doing their own research.



Again, I really meant no personal offense, just kinda thought I'd make a statement. I apologize that "close minded" seems to offend you, or perhaps it didn't and you would just like to hear my side of it or would like to carry on the discussion. Perhaps I used the wrong word to describe what I was trying to get at, yet I still can't think of a word that better fits. Granted, my use of the English vocabulary is limited.

 

[IDLEchild]

What constitutes a closed mind?

A religious zealot. Base insults etc etc etc

Is accepting alternative life styles, choices, ideologies, etc the basis of an open mind?

Accepting?? one could be open minded but not be accepting. I understand where you come from but do not ask me to go there. To each his own i suppose.

Is accepting those things, blindly, a sign of someone not willing to make a stand?

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle.

Which offends you? Somebody that has looked into certain or all aspects of (fill in the blank) & decided that there is something wrong with (fill in the blank) or somebody that decides that anything goes & as long as I'm not hurt it's okay by me?

Both have their benefits. Indifference can be relieving sometimes but eventually a man must take charge and figure out the delicecies of this world. It is also depends on how you go about into the quandry. One can keep a cool head and a curious state of thought while figuring out new and unsavory practices or methods of doing things or one could be a vehement moron and be repulsive in his/her methods.

Where do YOU make a stand? Why?

Ignorance was always my bane.

 

[Oz]

I lost the key to my mind years ago.......so it could be considered closed

Oz
locked out

 

[Gonz]

I really didn't mean to start anything, Gonz....you seemed, to me, very close minded.

The word you're looking for is asshole & that's okay, I rather enjoy it.

I sometimes make stands more strongly than I think is necessary just to make a point or push a button. The tendency is for everyone to politely get along & not say offensive things. In real life, that can be good...in a debate it's boring. Don't go against your grain in debating but standard bearer answers are little white lies. If they're not, then one must look at their life & wonder if anything really matters. Most of life in indifference with pieces of ying or yang thrown in to spice up the mix. At least be willing to say what you mean & mean what you say. If challenged, back up your words with ideas & thoughts, not pasty little feel good aren't I a good person nonsense. Take a stand & feel good doing it, knowing you're right. Even if the end result is a draw, somebody, somewhere took what was said & learned something they didn't know this morning.

Enjoy the fight, I'm not going anywhere

 

[Rose]

Why, Gonz, I think you're right. It is asshole. My husband, like yourself, is very opinionated and doesn't mind sharing. Not that that's a bad thing. But he's quite often called "asshole", by myself even. *hehe* Had I been thinking straight today (a bit under the weather today ), I'd probably have had the right wording.

 

[Gonz]

 

[BeardofPants]

Everyone is close-minded. We all have our opinions - some are more opinionated than others (like me), some stand on middle ground (bloody fence sitters), and some are more willing to see the other side - but they've still got certain opinions that probably aren't going to change. Hence, to a certain degree, we are all close-minded. I'm an atheist - I'm not going to accept that someone called Jesus is the son of God, therefore I am close-minded to certain religious aspects.

 

[Rose]

Everyone is close-minded. We all have our opinions - some are more opinionated than others (like me), some stand on middle ground (bloody fence sitters), and some are more willing to see the other side - but they've still got certain opinions that probably aren't going to change. Hence, to a certain degree, we are all close-minded. I'm an atheist - I'm not going to accept that someone called Jesus is the son of God, therefore I am close-minded to certain religious aspects.

 

[PT]

Gonz, first of all, no, you're not entirely closed minded. Now, you are significantly closed minded on some topics. Basically, you have to be able to listen and at least empathize with the oppositions viewpoint. You seem to have certain beliefs and viewpoints that aren't going to change no matter what anyone says to you. I think when you are not willing to even consider the oppostions view, you are closed minded. Now, when someone tells you that the sky is green, and you know it's blue, and you won't consider it, that's not. But when someone states an opinion, and your OPINION is different from thiers, and you won't even consider that they may be more right than you, that is closed minded.

 

[MrBishop]

What constitutes a closed mind?

The complete refusal that another opinion exists or that your own might be erronious, or the attack on an indivudual instead of an his/her opinion. I don't think that you were close-minded in this case, but you didn't reply to all points.

Is accepting alternative life styles, choices, ideologies, etc the basis of an open mind?

Accepting...sure, respecting...perhaps, following...no.

Is accepting those things, blindly, a sign of someone not willing to make a stand?

I don't think that everything, or every arguement has to black&white. If I dissagree with a point, but not enough to go through the effort of making a stand, or if I feel that making a stand will not affect the matter whatsoever, am I afraid to make a stand? I think not. Am I accepting it blindly...nope.

Which offends you? Somebody that has looked into certain or all aspects of (fill in the blank) & decided that there is something wrong with (fill in the blank) or somebody that decides that anything goes & as long as I'm not hurt it's okay by me?

Neither. It's the extremes that bother me. In the first case, this would be someone who refuses to hear any new or contradictory information because it might change their mind about (fill in the blank).
In the second case, this would be someone who turns a blind eye to how something might be harmful to others (in the long or short run).

Where do YOU make a stand? Why?

I have two cases where I'll make a stand. When I see that one opinion or another is seeing no resistance/support whatsoever (Devil's advocate) and to combat extremism. I'm sure there are other triggers, but I'll take those on a case by case basis.

 

[freako104]

myopic:closed minded: unable to see more than one view. unwilling to as well.

open minded: able to see more than one side to an argument w/out having to give in to the other side.