“It will be a snowy day in hell before…” OK now – fill in the blank!
“It will be a snowy day in hell before I vote for a democrat!”
“It will be a snowy day in hell before I hire a homosexual!”
“It will be a snowy day in hell before I watch Fox News!”
“It will be a snowy day in hell before I date a white woman!”
“It will be a snowy day in hell before we should negotiate with Iran.”
Alright – you get the idea!
News Alert – There is no issue with climate change in hell! The weather in hell has been very consistent for eternity so…don’t be waiting for a snowy day!
Now – let’s consider the issue of being closed-minded – an issue that impacts both the left and the right! Great News – finally we have an issue where we have bipartisan agreement – and that’s too bad!
In an article found in Psychology Today entitled; The Closed Mind – Why does it close and how does it open?, the author, Jessica Schrasder, states the following:
Each of us knows at least one person whom we would say has a closed mind. Bias, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia are all examples of closed-mindedness. When one’s mind is made up, there is no changing it. But there are other forms of closed-mindedness—for example, religious fundamentalism (regardless of the particular religion) is also a form of closed-mindedness. Fundamentally, what closed-mindedness does is shut out the possibility of original thinking.
Ok – a simple question – does the quote above remind you of anyone? Are you squirming just a little because, if you are being totally honest, you can see yourself as sometimes being closed-minded? If you can, join the crowd since most of us have, from time to time, struggled with opening our minds to viewing issues from a different perspective. It’s OK to be human and imperfect. Now – what are the problems caused by closed mindedness and how can it be overcome?
One serious issue with being closed-minded as a parent is we teach our kids to “think” the same way! Isn’t it beautiful to watch toddlers playing together? Sure we might need to teach them to share but we do not need to teach them to play with a child from a different race or culture? Fortunately, they seem to play together just fine. A problem with our toddlers is – they grow up and learn the lessons that we teach them. Adults often teach closed-mindedness. Adults teach children to notice the differences rather than embrace the similarities. Parents / aunts / uncles / teachers / society / the media and so on, too often help create a legacy of disdain or distrust of others. Shame on us!
So – how do we deal with a person that is closed-minded? Again, I am going to refer to the expertise of Jessica Schrader. Below please find a few of her thoughts on this topic.
…trying to talk the closed-minded person out of a closed mind is not likely to succeed. Arguing, trying to prove your points, these are methods that are likely to fail. Rather, facilitating a safe zone for this person, in which safety is the primary interactive tool, might mean that the closed-minded person will ever so slowly begin to explore his own mind. When, for example, a white person biased against their darker-skinned brothers and sisters meets and begins to formulate a safe relationship with a darker-skinned person, he may begin to open some.
Sounds like pretty good advice and it might offer the possibility of opening a mind. I will end this blog post with two videos and a quick comment. In these videos, Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur that ran for president, is asked about his Hindu faith. Please note the difference in how the question was broached in the two videos. After watching the videos , please reflect on how the questions made you feel and how Mr. Ramaswamy may have felt. If you are pressed for time – I suggest you stop the first video after 1:45 minutes – you’ll get the flavor of this questioner. I would suggest watching the second video in its entirety, it might bring a smile to your face! Enjoy!
Video 1 – Again – you only need 1:45 of this video to get the point
Video 2 – I’d watch the entire video!
Both questioners profess to be Christians. I suspect that the female questioner is somewhat open-minded and Christ-like. The other questioner – well – Jesus Christ might need to have a few words with him!
Thoughts / Comments?
