There seems to be an ever-escalating left-right battle in American society for political correctness. Not the “political correctness” that is intended to show respect to other persons. Rather it is a battle of “I am correct and you are wrong”. The gap between sides is spreading rapidly.
The biggest problem with these extremes is that no one seems to have read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Or, at least, everyone skipped the habit: seek first to understand, then seek to be understood. This habit, my reader, is what it means to be open-minded.
On one side, we have (and allow me to stereotype a bit to make my point) a group that are so strongly committed in their belief system that they cannot accept any belief or practice that runs counter to this. On the other side, we have a group who is so “open-minded” that they can’t tolerate “close-minded” or “narrow-minded” people. Neither side believes that they can coexist. Thus, they focus all their energy on destroying the “enemy” and building walls rather than building bridges that might unite. Who is right? Who is wrong? Honestly, when it comes to the polarity of our political and social segregation, I take a view of “get over yourselves!”
I am somewhat specific in my example, but this is not the only division in society. There are far too many things that separate us. These are possibly the most apparent at the moment, but certainly not the only or the worst conflicting views in our divided communities. This is perhaps a lazy path for me to make a point, but tolerate me for a moment. And, if you read my words and think you know what group(s) to whom I speak, you are quite possibly wrong.
We all have views that are extreme to someone. That is okay. In fact, it is better than okay. This is what makes America great—our diversity. Solutions to the great problems of the world come from sharing ideas and removing the walls of the imaginary box that contains us.
So, what does it mean to have an “open mind”? To those who believe themselves to have an open mind, it means no boundaries. It means no judgement (unless, of course, you do not share their enlightenment). To those who hold on dearly to learned “values”, having an open mind can be threatening. Thus, it has come to a question of “tolerance”. This is not correct, however.
Tolerance and open-mindedness are not synonyms (O.K., according to Roget, perhaps, they are). Tolerance and open-mindedness permit personal boundaries. Tolerance is perceived as a “free-for-all” by some (maybe both sides of the stereotypical divide). For some, it means “let others be”. For others, it is a threat to society. And I am not certain that there is not some truth in both.
We just celebrated our nation’s freedom. We celebrate a freedom that came at great cost and continues to come with a cost. Freedom demands some level of tolerance. Freedom also demands some constraints—boundaries. So, there must be limits to tolerance to have a functional society—a free society.
Open-mindedness is the acceptance that our own worldview is limited. It is not a question of correctness.
When I say, “I am open-minded”, I am not throwing my values out the window. What I am saying is that I do not have all the answers. I am saying that this is what I believe to be truth, but I accept that truth may be bigger than the box I have built for myself. I am not willing to compromise my values, but I am willing to allow them to be called into question. Moreover, I am open to allowing them to be applied differently than I presently apply them.
I believe that when we stand firm on our values, but have an open mind, we are capable of being united. When we have an open mind there ceases to be “us” and “them”, and we achieve true diversity.
Carpe momento!