To have an open mind, means to wipe away all those biases and to be able to think clearly without being directed by someone else to think and to act as others want you to.  This person is open to the world of reality; he observes life and circumstances; he does not leap to unsupported conclusions, rather he lets facts and careful thinking guide him.  His mind is free to arrive at best answers consistent with the facts, real needs, truth, justice, and the American Way.  You get the picture. 

These two mindsets are not equal and opposite evils.  The closed mind finds refuge in hellish places, but the holder is still a salvageable soul.  Most of the time.  The open mind is clear of bad intentions, it seeks out the truth, and it exudes goodness.  Most of the time. 

Now, if all of our choices affected only ourselves, we (society) would not have a problem.  If Joe Schmoe with the closed mind wants to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge because his cousin Burt told him to, that is one thing. Let him jump.  But Joe has no right to take all his cousins with him (as much as that idea has a lot of merit).  Nope.  The rest of us have a say about his cousins’ fates. 

But here is the bigger problem:  Along comes a political ideology that is hell bent on deception, deceit, and with dirty deeds aforethought.  The organizers of this ideology put together a plan to take over the country.  They dress up in suits, they bathe regularly, and they present themselves much like the open-minded ones. In reality they are cold-blooded bastards who want all the power and money, thence to gain and maintain their control for all time.  All they need do is snap their fingers and all the closed-minded people fall into line at the polling places and vote the bastards into office.  That’s when the stuff hits the fans.  

The ideologues win the elections, and they move like slippery weasels in passing laws that set into motion all their dirty outcomes—and we are all pulled down into the swamp land of no return.  Yet they still act like innocent little lambs.  “We are a country of laws” is their slogan. 

Repeat this scene ten thousands times, and we have a new reality:  We have tyrant kings, and stupid vassals—and ne’re the twain shall meet.  And history tells us that it will take a thousand years to defeat the bastards—when we are dealing with the 40^th generation of them.  And on the battlefields are millions of graves of our valiant friends, neighbors—the oppressed—who paid the ultimate price.  And it all could have been avoided if only the closed-minded ones had cleared their heads way back before it all started.  If nothing else, think of the saved blood, the intact body parts that did not get severed, and the good that was lost down the drain. 

How to Change the Landscape:  Stay in school past the 3^rd grade.  Learn how to think for yourself.  Learn the outcomes of education.  They are:  remember (recall facts), understand (explain ideas), apply (use information), analyze (draw connections), evaluate (make an informed decision), and create (produce something new).  Do these things over and over and over again.  Soon you will become a walking paragon of virtuous open-mindedness.  You will be nobody’s stooge, nobody’s fool.  You will act in your own best interests, and in the best interests of society.  Tyrants and ideologues will be unable to take over your mind, or your vote, or your bank accounts.  You may still get the urge to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge, but you won’t want to take all your cousins with you.