mismi writes
Quote:And yet we argue and try to win others over to our own point of view. People have already made up their mind about what they believe. Even the most open minded folks for the most part. So being open minded sometimes just means you are willing to let others speak their mind without trying to put the lid over what they are saying with your own beliefs.
I think we honestly do sometimes work hard to help other people see something as we see it especially if it is an issue that it important to us personally. It feels good when others agree but at the very least it helps to be heard and understood without malice.
Sometimes we--I anyway--want to discuss a topic to firm up and support my opinion or to help me arrive at a supportable opinion. I don't know how many times I've started typing out an opinion and realized that I couldn't come up with a reasonable argument to support it. I've probably deleted hundreds of those. I've posted a few too, sigh.
But in my opinion, for the most part, the closed mind responds:
1. with accusations that (the generic) you are partisan
2. with accusations that (the generic) you are brainwashed
3. with accusations that (the generic) you are narrowminded, mean spirited, bigoted, racist, etc. etc. etc.
4. with accusations that (the generic) you are stupid
5. with accusations that (the generic) you are closed minded.
Pontificating or not, I suspect this is what Hawkeye10 has been expressing even as he is criticized for expressing it.