operation: open-mind!

recently i was discussing with a student how democrats/liberals [sometimes] think they are much "further along" than republicans/conservatives, and vice versa. i shared with her that, in my experience, when two people promote their thoughts/beliefs, nothing is heard if each isn't open to the other's ideas. we talked about ways to reduce self-righteous attitudes and pride in these types of discussions. ultimately, i think it comes down to one of my favorite quotes, "what i believe is not what i say believe. what i believe is what i do." meaning, i can talk about conservative/liberal ideas all i want, but if i'm not living them out, then all that exits my mouth is useless garbage.

then i realized that i talk about being "open-minded" all the time, or at least wanting to be-- but, let's face it, i'm really not [surprise]. so, i'm going to start my own project- operation: open-mind! the goal: to consciously work at being better informed on multiple viewpoints (not just the ones i currently have), combined with doing unique, random, different, and ridiculous things to promote new ways of thinking about the world around us.

to work towards my goal i went to kqed's "you decide" site and learned from multiple sides on some pretty tough questions. the intention of you decide: "to foster critical thinking around issues of national debate. nothing about these subjects is black and white. you decide activities invite you to become part of the debate through a critical exploration of the issues. in the end, perhaps you will ask different -- and better -- questions than those presented here." and it definitely did that for me.

side note: i have a huge crush on the kennedy family. my crush just bigger. caroline and ted just endorsed barack. that's a blow to hillary if i've ever seen one. yikes.

happy birthday, lori lester, you are loved.