there is a quote I have, in like 60 point type on the side of a file cabinet. Been there for like 15+ years. From Aristotle. It says:
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
I assume you could teach a college class on what that means. But below the fold what I think it means and maybe why it should be something of a mantra here.
I am 42. Kind of set in my ways. My belief system is pretty firm. But I always come back to that quote. For me it means it isn't a bad thing to ponder new ideas, maybe even ideas that at first don't make sense. It doesn't make me less of a person, it makes me a better person IMHO.
In my life I've pondered ideas I thought were stupid. Not possible. Even bat-shit-crazy, which later I have come to accept as fact. Heck there is one topic here where I kind of talked down to people. Told them they were wrong. Now I have said I am sorry, cause they were right. Totally right. I was wrong. I came to that change cause I entertained their ideas.
I don't often get into pie fights here. Not my goal. I am more of can't we all hug, hold hands and get along kind of guy. I see all the turmoil here and I think:
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Shouldn't that be like a mantra of us liberals? Instead of getting mad at somebody here, well "entertain" their ideas.