Openmindedness is a symptom of growth

When is it that people stop growing and becoming more?

20's?

30's?

60's?

I wonder sometimes only because I know so many close minded people. The ages range from the late 20's to late 60's almost 70.

These are some really great people. Some are family members. One on one they are cool to hang out with and even learn things from. But if the talk turns to an area that is slightly uncomfortable, or heaven forbid, sexual in nature there is an immediate clam up or change of subject.

What I can't comprehend is the inability or unwillingness of educated, 'worldly' people to see more than their own view of the world. It's a point of fact that you can't learn about the world around you without exposing yourself to differing viewpoints.

Seriously. Try studying history sometimes. If you read a text book created for a child from the North it's a completely different book than one created for the South or West even though the information is about THE SAME COUNTRY OR HISTORICAL EVENT.

I believe that locked thinking starts in school. Children are malleable. They LOVE to learn and experience. The thing is, from the moment that the child is exposed to ways of thinking to which the parent or guardian does not approve, the warping begins. That child is not allowed to learn the information and then make up their own mind as to how they feel or what they think.

Now don't misunderstand me. I am a parent and there are things that I know my children shouldn't be exposed to until they have a frame of reference for dealing with the feelings or problems that the information might present. BUT, I don't see any reason to shield them from real life that they will have to deal with when I am not around to protect them.

I'm not trying to raise mental midgets or yes men. I want my children to have strong minds and wills that they can choose to unleash or restrain as they see fit. In other words I want them to be better than me. I want them to have reasonably healthy lives full of choices that they make or deny.

I don't want them to be in their 50's realizing that they shit their lives away living a model that wasn't of their choosing. No one should ever be forced to live a certain way because someone told them that there aren't any alternatives.

Life is full of alternatives and it only damages people when they are told or believe otherwise.

Human beings are incredibly complex beings. We build skyscrapers and star ships, and we also murder babies and each other. We save lives by performing the most delicate of surgery and we butcher each other in the name of religion. We hold our newborn in our arms and swear to die before allowing the child to come to harm, and we also throw our children in the trash because one more mouth to feed is just too much.

It's sad, and its glorious, and its terrifying, and it feels like heaven all at the same time. So how the hell can you tell me that there is only one way to live and experience the world?