Reinhold Neibhur
Reinhold Neibhur wrote, "Open-mindedness ... " is not "a virtue of people who don't believe anything. It is a virtue of people who know. . .that their beliefs are not absolutely true."
Open-mindedness is not for the weak or insecure. It is not for those who are afraid of freedom, their own and that of others'.
When Whittaker Chambers, "the communist turned conservative whose 1952 conversion tale, "Witness," strongly influenced the early cold-war right, said Americans would suffer defeat after defeat until their "faith in God and the freedom He enjoins is as great as Communism's faith in Man."" (NY Times, 4/29/06 on-line) he revealed his and the conservatives' fear of freedom. Was his word choice inadvertant when he said that God "enjoins" freedom? Did he really mean to say that God "orders" or "commands" us to be free? [enjoin: v 1: issue an injunction 2: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority; ] If so, then he was only replacing one set of demagogues for another. As the ideological struggle has played out, it appears that Whittaker's choice of words was not a mistake. It may not be God, but God's self-appointed spokesmen who enjoin us, but such injunctions are always paradoxical commands which require us to obey them in order to be free.
Open-mindedness is not the willingness to believe or accept anything, Open-mindedness requires a dedication to the truth and an objective reality. Open-mindedness requires that one consider everything, but not that one believe everything. Being open-minded does not mean that one has no commitment to social or moral priciples; one can still believe in justice and the good. But being open-minded means that commitment to these principles is guided by a commitment to truth.
If one's greed or fear drives one to acts of injustice, then a commitment to truth means that one must acknowledge those acts for what they are. It is immoral to use labels of "justice" or "the good" or "freedom" to rename these acts. To enslave people "for their own good" or invade a country without provocation as "just" distorts reality so that the meaning of :"justice" and "the good" becomes less certain. Self-serving lies are what really erodes moal values.
Open-mindedness is not for the weak or insecure. It is not for those who are afraid of freedom, their own and that of others'.
When Whittaker Chambers, "the communist turned conservative whose 1952 conversion tale, "Witness," strongly influenced the early cold-war right, said Americans would suffer defeat after defeat until their "faith in God and the freedom He enjoins is as great as Communism's faith in Man."" (NY Times, 4/29/06 on-line) he revealed his and the conservatives' fear of freedom. Was his word choice inadvertant when he said that God "enjoins" freedom? Did he really mean to say that God "orders" or "commands" us to be free? [enjoin: v 1: issue an injunction 2: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority; ] If so, then he was only replacing one set of demagogues for another. As the ideological struggle has played out, it appears that Whittaker's choice of words was not a mistake. It may not be God, but God's self-appointed spokesmen who enjoin us, but such injunctions are always paradoxical commands which require us to obey them in order to be free.
Open-mindedness is not the willingness to believe or accept anything, Open-mindedness requires a dedication to the truth and an objective reality. Open-mindedness requires that one consider everything, but not that one believe everything. Being open-minded does not mean that one has no commitment to social or moral priciples; one can still believe in justice and the good. But being open-minded means that commitment to these principles is guided by a commitment to truth.
If one's greed or fear drives one to acts of injustice, then a commitment to truth means that one must acknowledge those acts for what they are. It is immoral to use labels of "justice" or "the good" or "freedom" to rename these acts. To enslave people "for their own good" or invade a country without provocation as "just" distorts reality so that the meaning of :"justice" and "the good" becomes less certain. Self-serving lies are what really erodes moal values.
posted by Godel at 2:27 PM
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