As humans, we are an amalgamation of qualities and attributes. We take these qualities and improve on them every day through education and experience. And after many years, we reach a point where we think that we have established a definitive mindset. We lose ourselves to a personal bubble where we are comfortable with our opinions and thoughts. And sometimes, we forget that there are 7.5 billion other people in the world who also have qualities and attributes that differ from us. This, my friend, is the worst prison you could trap yourself in.
I grow up in a very political household, and it has taught me a thing or two about who I want to be in the future–one of them being open-minded.
In a nutshell, my family and most people who follow political news are pretty close-minded. Some are close-minded to a certain extent, but I have seen others go so far as to drop their friends over different political beliefs. Shocking, right?
This close-mindedness eventually leads to bias, and that bias leads to selective exposure. I noticed that liberals tend to read liberal news sources while conservatives tend to read conservative ones. Politics have created such a rift between Americans to a point where we have essentially restricted our opinions to our political party.
But why? What good does this do? I always find myself wondering why we can’t just take the time to educate ourselves on everything and form our own opinions rather than abide by biased media. Politics have created this divisive and toxic environment that is built based on close-mindedness. I eventually made a promise to myself that I would be open-minded, in all things I do, so that I don’t become a prisoner to ignorance. I will not make the same mistakes.
I find comfort in the fact that Siddhartha, the Buddha, has undergone the same feelings. He, too, was close-minded during his journey to enlightenment. It was only until Chapter 11 when Siddhartha became open-minded after talking to Vasudeva. Vasudeva told him that while he has heard many, he hasn’t heard everything. Vasudeva proceeds to tell Siddhartha to listen so that he can hear more. Siddhartha had to overcome a mental block of ignorance so that he could immerse himself in more knowledge.
I, too, can identify with Siddhartha as I am currently trying to educate myself more, especially this year. With the global pandemic and the fight for justice and equality, I became more aware of global issues. I feel as though I’ve become more considerate, and I’m not as ignorant as I was before. I guess you can say that I turned over a new leaf. And I couldn’t have achieved this without being open-minded.
Quaranteen 
This post resonated with me because I find I can’t even listen to the news from sources that agree with my political views; it reeks of bias. They use strong words to evoke strong emotions and leave out some information that could paint the story in a way they don’t like. I try to take the news with a grain of salt and look at multiple sources to find ones that are less biased. Even though I don’t enjoy it, I sometimes watch the news of the opposing political party to try to understand their point of view.
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I like how you included a personal experience in this blog post to identify with Siddartha’s encounter with Vasudeva in Chapter 11. It definitely made it more interesting and hooked me in, especially since my family is quite similar to yours! Politics is always an ongoing conversation topic with my family, and sometimes we disagree, but it doesn’t tear us apart. I absolutely agree with your opinion of how it’s shocking to not be friends with someone because of close-mindedness… everyone has their own opinions that should be respected. I think this is a great blog post and a perfect example of how more writing does not mean better.
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You’re right, all over social media people are biased. Finding people that are still confused on politics is hard. When I want to know more, many articles are either more conservative or more liberal. Trying to know more about what’s going on in America can be difficult, and sometimes I just have to read articles that are more on one side than the other, even if it bothers me. It’s what America has become, you’re either conservative or liberal, there’s no in between.
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I enjoyed reading this post because it is something that has been on my mind recently. It’s hard to pull away from beliefs your family has had for a long time, whether it be political or religious. What’s even harder, I would say, is persuading them to keep an open mind. Just like you, I don’t want to become this prisoner to ignorance. I like to know what’s out there and from my own opinions from the several sources of information I see while also maintaining an open mind. That rift between Americans created by politics has only become larger lately, at least from my view, and it does seem really harmful. I liked your cover picture, it was what initially drew me in.
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This was a great post that described why being open-minded is important. I agree with the idea that hiding and staying towards your ideas prevents you from truly understanding others. I loved how you described someone’s personal bubble, as the “worst prison”. We see this all the time across social media, as people take sides as conservative, or liberal. Taking sides leads to each side viewing each other as bad. This causes the inability to communicate, and change opinions due to toxicity. If people can’t learn to change or improve, growth will never happen. Your post has encouraged me to become open-minded to everybody!
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I can but also cannot relate to this post and the experiences you have had. My family have never been very political people so I can’t relate to having that added pressure in my family life. Your personal example has shown me what some have to endure within their family. However, I can relate to not wanting to be trapped in a certain mindset. I personally don’t know how I feel about politics, due to it never really being discussed, but I do know, that like you, I want to have an open mind and form my own opinions. If more people were open-minded, even if they disagree on some ideas, it would help everyone in life get along better.
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When you talked about how you grew up in a very political household, I read something that I was able to relate to. Ever since I was very young, I was having my parent’s close-minded political views being passed down to me. For a time, I even became hateful and ignorant because I only regurgitated what I was told. Thankfully, I began to form my own opinion on multiple topics, and I genuinely believe that it has helped me improve as a person. Being open-minded, like you said, helps promote growth in a person’s character.
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I like how you realize that having an open mind can show true care. An opinion is always okay to have, however when having a political opinion people are always so caught up with it emotionally, almost attached to it. To see the world a better place would require change, and I believe this change would be for everyone to be a little more open minded and accepting.
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