“Daddy, what does it mean when someone says people can have closed minds?” asked Jake. Mike thought about that question a lot lately. Things were so different now from how they had been previously. Not only had most of the people in town become sick with a terrible type of flue, but many businesses had to close because so many people were too sick to work. Even people who did not have the flu were affected. There was less money to pay bills and buy food, and fewer supplies were coming into town. As if things could not get worse, the people in governing positions had different ideas on what to do, and could not agree on a course of action that would ease the burdens and anxieties of all the people. After one particularly unproductive meeting, one of the townspeople accused another person of being closed-minded. That was what Jake had heard and had prompted his question.
“Well son, I don’t know if I can explain it to answer your question, but I’ll try. You know when you are trying to learn how to spell a new word in your homework that you have to see how it is different from similar words? The difference is important for meaning. When two people have differing viewpoints and one does not listen to the other’s viewpoint, or consider that someone else could have a valid idea on the subject discussed, then that would mean he is not openminded,” said Mike.
“But Dad, why don’t people listen to others? What makes them closed-minded?” Mike replied, “I don’t know if I can answer that, but maybe some people were brought up to think a certain way and that changing their thoughts would not be right. Or maybe people had experiences that caused them to be afraid to think differently. Maybe people were criticized when they voiced their thoughts and so they decided to just not even say anything different from what the majority of the people said. Maybe some people just don’t want to change. And maybe some people think that they are right and nothing could influence them to think otherwise.”
“Well Dad, I’m glad I listened to you. I learned something new,” said Jake. His father smiled and replied, “Yes, but you wanted to learn. Even if you did not agree with me, you listened and tried to understand my viewpoint. That makes you openminded.”
Discussion: How does difference lead to meaning? Why do some people fear changing their views? Can a person be openminded and still hold to his own ideas of right and wrong?