The Death of the Open Mind

Caution! Upcoming rant on: Closed-Mindedness

I'm so exhausted and disgusted with this "new" discrimination against free speech and free opinion. It seems that in my everyday life, I get annoyed with this at least once a week, but surely more. Whenever someone is critical or has an opinion, people have this "holier-than-thou" attitude, as though they know all and that person knows nothing. They use their opinions in order to crush those of others and I truly believe it is without keeping an open mind or evaluating the claim at all. It's happened all over in many instances, so let's use a couple examples, shall we?

The Spelling Nazi
First, I'll use the example that was on Liz's blog some time ago. Liz was making a valid point using her opinion about the fact that when people debate, their vocabularies suddenly grow in order to win the debate, and that it is unnecessary and can be frustrating (which I agree with). This woman posts on her blog saying spelling matters and all this rubbish about how Liz was spelling words incorrectly and it is just so tiring. Why would this woman say these things? What does she get out of putting another person down, on the way they spell no less? She attacked Liz's opinion.

The Offended
Next is one of my experiences. As most of you know, I'm helping develop the new flash game Psychopath 2 on K2XL. On the forums for this game, different players are writing opinions and getting feedback on whether it should be implemented into the game. While I have already had negative experiences there, I continue to return in order to give input that I feel is respected by most. One member posted a couple ideas which I thought were not good for the game, so I said so, in a nice and constructive manner. He "rebutted" (whoever rebuts to an opinion on a forum is beyond me) with the fact that my opinions were wrong and that I misunderstood his idea, which I did slightly, but not enough to change my opinion. He continued to say that I may not understand what he's typing or the vocabulary he's using (the word "plausible"), that I have "irked" him, and then wrote as if using hand-gestures so that I would understand that he was angry.

Ya know what? If you can't handle criticism on your ideas in a place where it is not only tolerated but desires, don't put them up there in the first place. If you're going to blatantly offend someone because that person is trying to help the community, you are the problem. This is my point, though, that people are just like this now, especially online. The internet gives us this barrier that protects us from having to take any sort of responsibility for our actions. He/she can say these things to me, be a total ass, and get away with it, because no one will ever come to his door, no one will be able to look him in the eye and say "You're a big jerk and should be ashamed."

The Country
On a larger scale, let's take a more publicized display of this problem, shall we? The Dixie Chicks, as most of you should know, apologized in 2004 for the president being from their home-state of Texas. They were highly criticized by Republicans for being anti-American and now receive death threats and lower record sales. In a democratic society, they are unable to voice their opinions about their president. Obviously this is completely ridiculous. Of course, I'm not from the U.S.A. so I can't say first-hand, but I know here in Canada if someone badmouths the Prime Minister, no one cares. I'm not saying no one should care, as that is the other extreme, but why can't we take an opinion for what it is worth? The Dixie Chicks should be able to say what they want about any individual in government if they believe that person is not doing a satisfactory job. It is their governing body after all.

What has happened to opinion and free speech? Are we so consumed with right and wrong, this liberal policy that everything is wrong until proven correct? It disgusts me and makes me so worried for my future and my children's future. We do not live in Orwell's 1984, we live in a democratic society that we value, or should value, greatly. In a time when we see our Western cultures as advanced and progressive, are we actually anything but regressive? Free thought, free speech, all that seems unimportant, even though it is those same values that are allowing people to attack and offend others everyday.

Where did niceness go? Why can't we see others' opinions for what they are? Why do we have to freak out everytime someone disagrees with our opinion?

Short answer: we don't. I'm pleading to all of you, no matter where you are, whether you read this often or you have no idea who I am or what a Jam is, to be open-minded and kind. If we don't, I'm truly concerned with our mental well-being twenty years from now, especially since it seems plausible that I'll have went absolutely nuts.

--Jam

*I know this rant was kind of unorganized, but I'm just so freaking angry that I'll have to come back and fix 'er up. Sorry!*