It’s Not About Biased or Un-Biased

I have been accused of saying that in political matters I am un-biased. Actually, I never said that. In fact, it would be silly for ANYONE to say that. Of course I have biases. We all do! There are certain convictions that most of us stand by. Those who don’t, well, God help the. We all have a particular world view and our stances are shaped by them. No, I have never claimed to being un-biased and if I did, I must have been loopy that day.

What I have claimed is that I will, to the very best of my ability, be open and listen to another view. And I do that. I can listen to another view, take it in, and process it against what I currently think or believe. At that point I make a judgment. Some times I will agree and adopt/reconcile it into my own views. Other times I will not be able to agree with it and will say so. Not a thing wrong with rejecting an idea.

Here is the problem. There are too many people who think a person is close minded if they reject an argument from the other side. The only way a person can be open minded is if they hear your side and accept it. That is pure nonsense. Again, it comes back to convictions, and if we slide on those for the sake of “open mindedness”, we are weak minded and spineless. And beyond that, some people called you biased and close minded for even stating an opinion contrary to their own.

I love when someone makes a good argument about their position. Even if I don’t agree afterwards, I can appreciate and respect the way they communicate their convictions. What irks me is when I feel I have made an argument and the responder takes whacks at my convictions by changing the terms and content of the debate. We should listen to what a person is saying and respond to that. When I comment on a blog or a Facebook post, I aim at what is actually being said and do not try to pull other factors in.

Look at my post yesterday as an example of this. If I am posting about Obama and how I think he is not making good on his promise of promoting a post-racial, unified society, don’t respond with Bush comments and the GOP is evil. I am not Bush. I am not the GOP. I am not even a republican! I am someone who is a stakeholder in good race relations and if our President does something that I think is harmful to them I will speak out. I don’t care if his name is Bush or Obama. And I have spoken out against both of them.

So, am I biased? Yes. Do I go right down the line with one party? No. Can I listen to the other side? Absolutely. It is not a crime to disagree and have convictions. It’s not even a bad thing. What is bad is when being open minded means agreeing with the other guy all the time. If that is what a person expects, they are the most closed minded of all.

Comments

[kristine]

The very things you mentioned about being called close-minded if you don't agree or being in conversation with someone who cannot agree to disagree are the very basic reasons why I avoid talking politics. (Sure, that may seem the wimpy route to take but it spares me lots of aggravation and hurt feelings since I never know what can and will happen when the conversation turns to politics.)