Open Mindedness Dilemma
Open mindedness has always been a personality trait that I have valued in individuals. In fact, I have taken pride in considering that I have that trait. But it occurred to me that maybe I should more fully explore the possibility that my own open mindedness was merely a figment of my imagination due to the fact that I admire open minded persons.
Therefore I started by looking up the definition of said trait. Receptive to new and different ideas or the opinions of others. Okay, I'm still in the water. I quite enjoy new ideas and opinions. People who think "outside the box" are forever intriguing to me.
Then I ran across a couple of short quizzes to test to see if you are open minded. After taking one test, the results stated that I was 72% open minded, accompanied by this explanation:
You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.
(If you want to take the test, here's the website.)
Once again, I can live with that description of myself. After all there is nothing wrong in not loving everything in the world, but tolerating others' differences is a must. I am passionate about music, but I don't care for rap or hip-hop. That's okay, others can listen and I can listen to what I like. I am an atheist, but that's alright if others need to believe in a religion or other spirituality. I don't have to. Relationships can be monogamous, polyamorous, or celibate. It's what ever gets you off. I'll do it my way.
But here comes the rub. With all my professed open-mindedness, I find it difficult to tolerate those individuals or groups that feel they can not abide anyone else having a different opinion from themselves. This includes religious groups, political parties, or just an individual who thinks "It's my way, or the highway." It is so difficult for me to abide those groups/individuals that try to justify their views without facts or make them up to fit their belief. The "That's just the way I feel" type of thinking. Now, I don't care if they just do this to themselves, but when they try to impact me with their voodoo logic, I often see red.
So am I truly open-minded? Now that is a Rather Knotty Problem.
I found this rather intriguing You-Tube discussion on what constitutes open mindedness that is worth a look:
Therefore I started by looking up the definition of said trait. Receptive to new and different ideas or the opinions of others. Okay, I'm still in the water. I quite enjoy new ideas and opinions. People who think "outside the box" are forever intriguing to me.
Then I ran across a couple of short quizzes to test to see if you are open minded. After taking one test, the results stated that I was 72% open minded, accompanied by this explanation:
You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.
(If you want to take the test, here's the website.)
Once again, I can live with that description of myself. After all there is nothing wrong in not loving everything in the world, but tolerating others' differences is a must. I am passionate about music, but I don't care for rap or hip-hop. That's okay, others can listen and I can listen to what I like. I am an atheist, but that's alright if others need to believe in a religion or other spirituality. I don't have to. Relationships can be monogamous, polyamorous, or celibate. It's what ever gets you off. I'll do it my way.
But here comes the rub. With all my professed open-mindedness, I find it difficult to tolerate those individuals or groups that feel they can not abide anyone else having a different opinion from themselves. This includes religious groups, political parties, or just an individual who thinks "It's my way, or the highway." It is so difficult for me to abide those groups/individuals that try to justify their views without facts or make them up to fit their belief. The "That's just the way I feel" type of thinking. Now, I don't care if they just do this to themselves, but when they try to impact me with their voodoo logic, I often see red.
So am I truly open-minded? Now that is a Rather Knotty Problem.
I found this rather intriguing You-Tube discussion on what constitutes open mindedness that is worth a look:
Click to view