בס'ד
ידל
יום שני, אוגוסט 21, 2006
Be Open Minded and Respect My beliefs.
Shalom U'Bracha...
Link to this: 01:55 0 comments 
It has been a while but it's not like any one reads this any way....
For quite some time I have been coming to a realization about the phases "be open minded" and " respect my beliefs ( or opinion)." You might think that people who use such phrases will be examples of open-mindedness and respectful behavior, but in reality you will see that is not the case, just the opposite. Don't mistake what I'm saying, they are genuine in their requests for open-mindedness and respect. The whole thing can be a bit misleading.
When some one asks you to be open minded, they honestly want you to be open minded:
Release your mind from the shackles of logic, reason, and understanding, so that it might be infiltrated by my unfounded opinion. You see my opinion can't stand up to the tests of a mind that isn't open and willing to accept any thing that comes at it. Your ideas are tied down and fastened by fundamentals, and principles , open your mind and let go of those ancient, time tested and proven ideas. You see I'm offering you something that hasn't really been tested yet, and if you don't open your mind you'll never accept what I'm selling.
You will find that most people who make this request are the most closed minded people you have met, only their mind isn't closed up in the binds of logic, reason, and understanding. They are tied up with the ropes of desire, laziness, hate and things comparable. You see to be able to satisfy their desires they need some sort of opinion that will give them permission for the immoral, such an opinion most defiantly will not withstand an open mind, logic would come in and crush these opinions. You can see how people would need such opinions to also support their laziness and hate.
When arguing with those who request you to open your mind they will often argue their point without an argument. They will talk, make shallow points, and repeat them over and over changing the semantics ever so slightly as to not indicate their true plan. If your mind is open it will soon be filled with their watered down arguments and any remnants of a solid and founded idea will be washed away. These people can be tricky because sometimes they have the gift of flowery speech that can beautify the most ugly ideas, but anyone who hasn't yet abandoned his intellect will , upon inspection , be able to recognize that there is no substance in such arguments.
Very often when some one asks you to "respect my beliefs" he in-fact means "open your mind" this can clearly be seen from their arguments and opinions. Many times "respect my beliefs" is the true intention of the words. Don't be mislead, it does not mean that your beliefs will be respected in return, just the opposite.
Respect my beliefs because I don't respect yours. I have no intention to listen to your arguments because my opinion is the only one deserving of respect. Don't bother me with your logic and reason, I don't have the time and I will not bring my beliefs down to a level to meet with yours.
These people generally don't have the mental capacity to stick to their beliefs if they were brought down from their falsely elevated state to the realm of reasonable thinking. Like those requesting open-mindedness the respect seeker needs some way to protect his ideas, and often the respect seeker also intends to destroy your opinions while protecting his, only he uses an elevated position rather than a closed mind.
There is though possibly a more innocent side to the respect seeker, many times they recognize their lack of mental capabilities, and recognize that they haven't yet understood the ideas close to them, and it would be unfair to expose these ideas to attack when they are unprotected and do not yet have a solid base. If this is his intent then he is praiseworthy, and you will find that he is deeply involved in the learning and pursuit of understanding of his own beliefs.
