In response to Greyshort’s post about the distinction between open-minded men and narrow-minded men (well not necessarily distinction, but more like her preference). I have decided to take it upon me to write my opinion on the matter at hand.
First we start with the definitions of these terms:
Open-minded:
- Having or showing a mind receptive to new ideas or arguments.
- Unprejudiced; unbigoted; impartial.
Narrow-minded:
- Having or showing a prejudiced mind; biased.
- Not receptive to new ideas; having a closed mind.
- Extremely conservative and morally self-righteous.
Liberal:
- Favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
- Favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible.
- Free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant.
Conservative:
- Disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- Favoring traditional views and values.
Now, I’m not going to define them based on how they are used in our society today (the Kuwaiti society that is) because I do not want to offend anyone and because someone might say that that isn’t how they specifically use them. To avoid having disgruntled readers, I am merely going to mention a few examples of how they are used: (this is based on my experience or the experience of friends and family)
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Sara: Ana mit7ajba
Nasser: Wa3! Ana wa7ed Librali, Ma a7eb il i7jab, asef magdar akalmech.
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Nour: Tiyeen ma3ay il anti-segregation rally?
Sara: Ee!
Jenna: La, I don’t really believe that it’s an issue that we should focus on ya3ni there are more important things going on.
Arwa: WAY MASADEG! Modailech close-minded? Gi6a3!
Nour: Arwo! It’s her personal preference yah!
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Nour: 7adda iyanen, he’s so open-minded! I7ib il bint il sifoor ooh iroo7 7aflat ooh isafer kil cham shahar 7ag Cannes! Ooh Maygooli latro7een ooh latyeen, 7adda free.
Mansour: A3oothu billah! 7aflat ooh sifoor ooh cannes? Staghferallah yallah bye!
–
Mansour: il bint 7ilwa bas Liberal! Min agoolaha masjed, it-haster 3alai! Kilma agoolaha ana a’ayed man3 il ikhtila6 itsida ib wayhi!
Nasser: Wallah inik 7mar! Baddel wiyay 3ad tawni mitkhales min Saro il mit7ajba!
–
If you believe that the above examples are using the words -liberal, conservative, open-minded, and close-minded- correctly then you should continue reading. If you agree that they are used incorrectly then I applaud you for being one of the few, if you have ever spoken back to someone who has used them in the aforementioned manner then the rest of this post will be of no use to you because you already grasp where I am heading. Finally, if you are going to state that you do not, and do not have friends, and have never heard of ANYONE in Kuwait use the words in the same way that they are used above, then my friend, you are a liar.
The Characters:
Nour: Open-minded Liberal
Sara: Open-minded Conservative
Mansour: Close-minded Conservative
Nasser: Close-minded Liberal
Arwa: Innocent bystander used to prove a point
Jenna: Innocent bystander used to prove a point
Disclaimer: These characters are fictional, and they are not developed therefore if there are flaws in the flow of conversation it is because I am not a storyteller and I did not think of everything before hand. It is merely a glimpse into the life of these 4 characters.
Moving on.
Arwa: Haw shlon il liberal ikoon close-minded? il liberal free. wil free ya3ni open-minded! Wishlon ya3ni il conservative ikoon open-minded? Ya3ni dayyen ooh ib nafs il wakt iroo7 7aflat ooh chithee?
Adorra: Ana agoolich yabnayti shlon!
Being a liberal does not entail being open-minded. Well, they are used interchangeably a lot but that does not mean that if someone is liberal he HAS to be open-minded. Being a conservative also does not entail being close-minded, they are used interchangeably a lot but that does not mean that if someone is conservative he HAS to be close-minded.For the sake of argument, I will use the issue of Gay Marriage.
In the right meaning of a liberal, he has to be WITH gay marriage because he is for anything that is progressive and new and not so traditional. He believes in reform and in personal freedom and so if 2 men want to get married then goshdarnit they can get married! THAT is a liberal perspective.
Now, a conservative perspective goes along the lines of something like this. I don’t believe in gay marriage. I think that it is morally wrong and I believe in the traditions that I was taught since I was young. 2 men cannot get married because we were not raised under the value of 2 men being able to get married and thats that.
Now, a close-minded perspective: GAY MARRIAGE? WTF?!? SHAL MASKHARA?!? Is this what the world has come to??
An open-minded perspective: Even though, I personally am not gay, I do not see why men who love men and who believe that they should have the right to get married cannot. I don’t have to dictate how everyone lives and I do not have to necessarily agree with everything but I will definitely respect it.
Since we’ve gotten the real concepts of liberal, conservative, close-minded and open-minded out of the way. Let me ask you the following questions:
Does Nasser respect the fact that Sara mit7ajba?
Does Mansour respect the fact that Nour’s boyfriend parties?
The answer to both of these is NO. What does this tell you? That not every liberal is open-minded. There are very close-minded liberals. In fact, my father happens to be a very close-minded liberal. He will not let me do anything that goes against his beliefs of what a true liberal should be doing.
Is Sara interested in going to an anti-segregation rally?
Is Nour accepting of all opinions be they similar to her own or not?
What does this tell you? That just like liberals can be open-minded, so too can conservatives. They may not believe in the anti-segregation of schools but that does not mean that they will not listen to or will not respect you because you do. My mother is an open-minded conservative, she does not dictate what I can and cannot do based on how conservative she is. She understands and accepts me the way I am as long as I respect my boundaries.
Finally, I will get to the last point on my list. An open-minded person is not someone who will let you go out without asking you where you are going, he/she is not someone who will go to parties and drink, he/she is not someone who has blatant disregard of our cultural traditions and values, he/she is not someone who wants a girl to not be veiled because that clashes with his understanding of what beauty is, he/she will not judge you based on what you believe in and who you talk to. An open-minded person is one that respects everyone and is OPEN to ALL points of view.
A close-minded person is not someone who will tell you what to wear and what not to wear, he/she is not someone who went to a public school, he/she is not someone who lives in a far away district, he/she is not someone who has a lot of girlfriends and boyfriends. A close-minded person does not respect your opinion, he/she will stick to his own personal point of view and refer to it as fact.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please I BEG OF YOU make the fucking distinction!
