An Open Mind A Discerning Mind

The ABCDE's of tolerance

In today's society we are expected to have an open mind.   Confusion arises as to what that means in regards to our achieving a more gentle sugar coated humanity.  An open mind does not mean that you should allow yourself to permit everything to enter it as if it were a refuse receptacle, opened wide to allow trash and garbage to fall in.  

“Tolerance” and “inclusiveness” need to be part of this discussion.  Tolerance should not be confused with inclusiveness and stupidity.  Anyone can be stupid.  It is a very easy process and takes very little effort.  You simply tolerate and include everyone and anyone into your group because they have a right to be whatever they want to be and therefore you must accept them for who or what they are whatever that might turn out to be.  If someone tells you that they are a mahogany table.  Well that is just fine.  If they go on with an explanation about their need to be and have the identity of a pink roller blade person with yellow wheels, metallic wings and sing in the choir, you are obligated to respect their opinion.  One day they might want to be a woman and on another day a man.   Who knows what restroom they might end up in and who cares?

 Perhaps they have contrary leanings towards the left side of life, not exactly aligned with your conceptualized views of the world. They might continue on with their "unique" beliefs, expressing feelings for multi-gender inclinations. At that point you must not simply tolerate them but embrace them, include them in your group, take them at their word. The world must be made a better place in order to make it a better place because they are in it.  Keep an open mind at all times.

Otherwise, you could be labeled and viewed as a discriminatory closed minded person.  That wouldn't be very nice would it?

It makes more sense to have a discerning mind.  Give yourselves the freedom to select what garbage or trash gets in.  Whatever you put in your brain will remain there.  There is no magic eraser to remove it.  If you watch porn, it stays there.  If you watch violent acts and murders, those events are going to be with you, in your mind for better or worse forever.  A lobotomy might help but is that really help?  Your mind is a sacred place.  You can not un-see things once you have seen them.   You might want to think twice before you contaminate your brain.

 When you are born, the psychological community in general, have the idea that the mind is a *tabula rasa. “blank tablet.”  We come into this world with literally nothing on our brains and then our environment along with natural exterior forces imprint or etch out our existence, our experiences, turning them into memories and what we eventually become as a person.  (Some of us leave the way we came.)

With a discerning mind we can figure out right from wrong, good from evil, with the ever expanding options available to us over time as we develop.  Freedom of choice is important but.... How free....and at what cost?

It would be easy for me to let the cat out of the bag.  (Poor kitty....What is kitty doing in the bag in the first place?  Who would do such a thing?)  It would be simple for me to touch on the raw subjects and hot topics of gun control, abortion, gender, religion, politics, racial discord and crimes.  These are all fun subjects but I can not gravitate away from the subject at hand so we will discuss these related subjects at a future date....hopefully with a discerning and open mind.

Right now, let's focus on the simple matter at hand.  It all comes down to our capacity to make responsible honest judgments.  The open mind does in fact have a lot to do with our ability to tolerate things in life for the good of all.  A simple example would be;  a couple of days ago, a woman was at an airport with her children.  The mother named one of her children Abcde.  She pronounces the girls name, “Ab-city.”  An airline worker noticed the girls odd name and instantly did what all cruel people do; he made fun of her and her name in front of her and her family and the world at large.

The airline company tried to distance themselves from their employee by saying, “We here at such-and-such airlines do not tolerate any form of discrimination, disrespect or ill will towards any of our valued customers.”  Peace, love, harmony and joy....You know the deal.

The airline employee posted a picture of the girls flight ticket name, ABCDE on Face Book and other social media sites to degrade and embarrass her further.  ABCDE is confused.  She said, “Mommy, why are these people making fun of me?”

Mommy dearest has every right on Earth to name her children whatever she pleases.  She could even abort her baby at the drop of a hat. The point is; all actions have consequences.

A young couple in New Jersey decided to name their daughter Adolf Hitler....not exactly a sweet gentile name for a little girl or baby.  Actions have consequences.  The NJ state child protection agency people came in and took their children away from them.  Tolerance, open mindedness, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, inclusiveness and lets not forget the discerning mind are all part of this equation.  Poor little Abcde....poor little Hitler... poor little kitty still in the bag.  Not to worry.  You can't keep the cat in the bag forever.  That would be intolerable and not very nice either.   

* Tabula rasa refers to the epistemological idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Proponents of tabula rasa generally disagree with the doctrine of Innatism which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge.