What does it mean to be "open-minded"?

#1
OrangeEmpire

OrangeEmpire

The White Debonair
Joined
Nov 28, 2005
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#1
Everyone that I know calls themselves "open-minded," and yet, IMO, most of them are not.

What does the label ("open-minded") mean to you?

Does it have a meaning anymore?

Or is it just a worn out cliche?

Do you consider yourself "open-minded"?

And if so, why?

I think it means being willing to honestly listen to what others have to say, even if you're not inclined to agree with their particular world view. It means evaluating what they say on the merits of truth or falsehood (or likelihood thereof) and possibly changing your own views accordingly. It does not mean mindlessly believing whatever you hear, but it certainly doesn't entail the "party line thinking" one so often finds these days.
 
#2
#2
Most importantly, I think it is having the individual fortitude to look into those issues in which you don't understand. It means you are willing to make the effort to actually research the other side of your argument. Most importantly, I believe that being open minded means relying on logic and reason more so than emotion when engaging in an argument.
 
#3
#3
To me, being open minded means not being threatened by the fact that somebody somewhere might know something that you don't.
 
#4
#4
If one feels that they know everything, they are in for a rude awakening in the not so distant future.
 
#5
#5
To me open minded is your wife or girlfriend not being afraid to bring another woman into your bedroom.
 
#7
#7
(therealUT @ Jul 24 said:
If one feels that they know everything, they are in for a rude awakening in the not so distant future.
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Aren't you talking about yourself?
 
#8
#8
(Orangewhiteblood @ Jul 24 said:
To me open minded is your wife or girlfriend not being afraid to bring another woman into your bedroom.
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If you are really open minded it should be wife and girlfriend. Not or.
 
#11
#11
But seriously. Being open minded is considering all options and not closing out any for whatever reason.
 
#13
#13
I think it means taking issues and judging them on their own merit and not simply towing the "party line"

Both political parties in America are screwy in one way or the other.
 
#14
#14
People who claim to be open minded are just deflecting the issues so they don't have to tell you how the really feel.
 
#15
#15
(volmanjr @ Jul 24 said:
People who claim to be open minded are just deflecting the issues so they don't have to tell you how the really feel.
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No lie . . . People who aren't open minded usually start sentences with statments like, "I consider myself open minded." :birgits_giggle:
 
#17
#17
(OrangeEmpire @ Jul 24 said:
I think it means being willing to honestly listen to what others have to say, even if you're not inclined to agree with their particular world view. It means evaluating what they say on the merits of truth or falsehood (or likelihood thereof) and possibly changing your own views accordingly. It does not mean mindlessly believing whatever you hear, but it certainly doesn't entail the "party line thinking" one so often finds these days.
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Nice work.

The only thing I would add to this is it also means not thinking you are superior to someone with a different viewpoint -- unless they are a really left-wing whacko :w00t:
 
#18
#18
(Orangewhiteblood @ Jul 24 said:
To me open minded is your wife or girlfriend not being afraid to bring another woman into your bedroom.
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Your open mind should be closed for repairs. :shakehead:
 
#21
#21
What a waste it is to lose one's mind (paraphrasing Dan Quayle paraphrasing the United Negro College Fund's slogan)
 
#23
#23
(Orangewhiteblood @ Jul 25 said:
Oh come on LIO, live a little..
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If my husband ever suggested such a thing to me, I would leave him on the spot and never look back.
 
#24
#24
(LadyinOrange @ Jul 25 said:
If my husband ever suggested such a thing to me, I would leave him on the spot and never look back.
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I thought you were a Republican and here you are talking about cutting and running. :disappointed:
 
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