Changing your Mind

Is it better to be a "my mind's made up" person or an "I've changed my mind" one? 

"A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will." — Spanish proverb. "You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy." — C. JoyBell.

I'm not saying that vacillating,"wavering between different opinions or actions; being irresolute", is a good thing. I'm also not saying that being indecisive works well. I have known people who were unable to make their mind up what they wanted for breakfast, never mind who to vote for in an election. I find that level of indecisiveness very irritating & time wasting.

On the other hand I find people who are completely unable to see a different point of view almost impossible to cope with. It's like having a conversation with a brick wall. It's deeply arrogant to believe that you know everything there is to know & therefore your opinion must be right.

I am unashamedly liberal socialist in my views. I think that the many extreme disparities between peoples & individuals are at a crisis point. I believe that we are at a critical point in the climate emergency & the very future of our world as we know it is at risk of oblivion. I believe that if we are to survive we need to make serious changes in how we live together in our ecosystem. 

But if reliable evidence to the contrary were to emerge, I hope that I would be capable of changing my view. The crucial ingredient is reliable evidence. 

We humans are too impressionable, too willing to follow the herd. Why on earth do we follow unelected "influencers" in our millions. Why do the Taliban believe that their "vice & virtue" laws relating to women are acceptable? They include a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public. Why do people tolerate & even believe in authoritarian dictators like Assad, Putin, Kim Jong Il? Presumably it's both indoctrination & fear.

 

If you live in a democracy & are free to think & speak out you are very lucky. That is one of the reasons I think that "no platforming" is so deeply worrying. We are able to challenge what someone says & believes. We can bring evidence to support that challenge. There are many countries in this world where that is not possible. Where people who have tried to do that are either dead or in prison. Dissidents & journalists are brave in the face of repression.

We simply cannot know everything there is to know about something at a given point in time. We need to be open & flexible. The ability to change your mind is a valuable freedom. We need to protect it.