2008 Woodie Awards
Speak for the Trees
The Final Lesson
Ben Griggs
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Opinion
Open your minds. Too often on this campus students meet new ideas with a stubborn unwillingness to change. It is impossible to learn - which is the reason higher education exists - without being receptive to new and potentially life-altering truths. Open-mindedness does not mean you should just believe anything and everything (that is being credulous). What being open-minded is really about is truly listening to people with different values without bias or prejudice.
I have done my best throughout my college career to always honestly consider information and opinions never before known to me. But, I am not without fault. I began, as many do, thinking I knew all about the world. I was wrong. By opening my mind to foreign ideas I have come to see the world in a whole new way. I have gained an education.
Unfortunately, many people have become what are now referred to as "excusitarians." Instead of accepting new knowledge, people make excuses for their actions. When valid counterarguments do not exist people reach for anything other than making a personal change. We have become so far ingrained in our traditions that we choose to defend our behavior rather than make positive progress.
Mohandas Gandhi once said, "It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." His message is for everyone, both skeptics and believers. None of us know everything but the wisest among us are willing to learn.
An important part of learning is investigating and researching the truth for ourselves. People cannot simply be told the truth. We must come to it on our own, in our own way, on our own time. To find these truths we must activate our curiosity. Our minds must move from passive reception to active detection.
We must be prepared to unlearn or relearn as well. Some things we know and believe may actually be wrong. It is important to humbly accept this possibility and adapt to it.
I have done my best throughout my college career to always honestly consider information and opinions never before known to me. But, I am not without fault. I began, as many do, thinking I knew all about the world. I was wrong. By opening my mind to foreign ideas I have come to see the world in a whole new way. I have gained an education.
Unfortunately, many people have become what are now referred to as "excusitarians." Instead of accepting new knowledge, people make excuses for their actions. When valid counterarguments do not exist people reach for anything other than making a personal change. We have become so far ingrained in our traditions that we choose to defend our behavior rather than make positive progress.
Mohandas Gandhi once said, "It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." His message is for everyone, both skeptics and believers. None of us know everything but the wisest among us are willing to learn.
An important part of learning is investigating and researching the truth for ourselves. People cannot simply be told the truth. We must come to it on our own, in our own way, on our own time. To find these truths we must activate our curiosity. Our minds must move from passive reception to active detection.
We must be prepared to unlearn or relearn as well. Some things we know and believe may actually be wrong. It is important to humbly accept this possibility and adapt to it.
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