Difference between being "Close-Minded" and having "Common Sense"?

[freak-o-a-l]

On friday, I was told by some someone at school that I'm close minded because I won't try drugs. Is it just me or is that just having common sense? I mean, I don't have to stab myself to know it will hurt, in the same respect that I don't have to smoke crack or shoot heroine to know it's bad for me. It seems to me that people use the term "close-minded" alot in instances where it doesn't really apply.

close-mind·ed (klsmndd, klz-) or closed-mind·ed (klzd-) adj.
Intolerant of the beliefs and opinions of others; stubbornly unreceptive to new ideas.

IMO I think that being close-minded is being closed off to something that could be beneficial or positive for you. For example, Automatically not liking someone because they don't where clothes that you like is being close-minded, because that person could very well be the nicest person in the world and wind up being your best friend, you don't know until you try. However, not trying drugs is not being close-minded because you know very well that that they cause harm to you, both mentally and physically, and just trying them could get you addicted. Therefore, there really is no chance of a positive outcome.

I would like to have a serious discussion about this. What do you think?

edit: In this thread, I'm wondering about society as a whole using the term close-minded in it's correct context. Do you think it is used properly or misused more often than not?

 

[BassDominator]

Stick to your guns, dude. I think it's close-minded for folks not to respect your feelings on the subject.

 

[kduncan5]

From someone who's done it, you can take my word for the fact that it's not worth it. The "someone" at school will find out, apparently the hard way. You don't have to.

Close-mindedness, in this case, does not apply. Common sense does. -kd5-

 

[Dedpuhl]

Common sense tells me not to do drugs.

That and the fact that I have watched my sister's life go swirling due to drug use...

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

definitely not close mindedness for wanting to be clean. whoever called you close minded is close minded for not tolerating ppl that don't want to take drugs.

i done my share of substances and i think the reason i am sober (have been for years) is pretty obvious.

 

[mrCide]

I have a lot of friends who smoke. They all tell me how it's the greatest thing in the world. They're not losers, they just do it in their free time.

Personally, I don't do it out of respect for my family/parents. Otherwise I wouldn't care. But my friends respect my choice not to do it for the reason I won't do it. They use to think I was just like uptight but they thought I was just being a baby or something.

I honestly think if something is not going to harm you you should give it a try, but I don't think you should frown upon someone that does not want to. Opinions are opinions, but to insult someone's morals and choice/opinion is not cool.

If these people aren't your friends dont even worry about it, it's not worth your time to even discuss/talk about who's right or wrong. We have that kind of freedom as humans.

 

[freak-o-a-l]

I'm definately not going to do drugs, this guy is not my friend. I simply asked him why he did them, and when he couldn't come back with an answer, he called me close-minded.
In this thread though, I'm wondering about society as a whole using the term close-minded in it's correct context. Do you think it is used properly or misused more often than not?

 

[JimmyEatWorld]

I agree that the person talking to you is definatly close minded, but I also am all for trying new things. But of course this all depends on the drug. Agreed you don't have to stab yourself to know it hurts, but noone is asking you to stab yourself, just to try something once. This certainly doesn't apply to all drugs, and even if you don't want to, I don't pressure anybody, because thats lame. And no I'm not a crackhead, or even a pothead, or a heroine fiend, but I just think people should try new things, if it doesn't do them serious bodily harm.

 

[luv2chill]

freak-o-a-l--

Did you see the other thread about this exact same subject? It was posted earlier today. Kind of weird to have two in one day seeing as this is something that hasn't been brought up before (to my knowledge anyway).

I agree that no one should call you close-minded for your choice to not do drugs. It's obviously your choice and you shouldn't be ridiculed.

I don't know what kind of drugs you're talking about, but personally I draw a big line between drugs like heroin and cocaine and drugs like marijuana and alcohol (yes I grouped them together on purpose). The bad press marijuana gets is based on fear and societal inertia (i.e. it's bad because society/parents/church/whoever says so).

To avoid the closed-minded label, I would suggest that you do some objective research on individual drugs so when your buddies call you that you can say "I researched it and it can cause x, y, and z". You cover your bases that way. And look past the DEA/DARE web sites--they are propaganda machines and are extremely biased.

But what it comes down to is that the choice to do drugs or not to do drugs belongs to you, and no one has the right to belittle you for it. You're not closed-minded if you've made an INFORMED choice (emphasis on informed).

l2c

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

society is probably misusing the word. collectively we ain't much smarter than Homer J. Simpsons, ya know.

 

[freak-o-a-l]

Luv2Chill: You brought up a good point that you should make informed choices, and I think that kind of sums it up right there. I've done my share of researching the consequences of hard drug use. I've seen my friend turn from a good kid to a drop out with no future. But even not drawing from personal experiences, I've seen the proof of what drug abuse can do to your brain and the rest of your body. So instead of even taking the chance, I made up my mind to steer clear of the whole thing. I think I made an informed choice.

Sackofalltrades: unfortunatly, I have to agree with you. We are so smart! S-M-R-T!

 

[skylark]

<< On friday, I was told by some someone at school that I'm close minded because I won't try drugs. Is it just me or is that just having common sense? I mean, I don't have to stab myself to know it will hurt, in the same respect that I don't have to smoke crack or shoot heroine to know it's bad for me. It seems to me that people use the term &quot;close-minded&quot; alot in instances where it doesn't really apply.

close-mind·ed (klsmndd, klz-) or closed-mind·ed (klzd-) adj.
Intolerant of the beliefs and opinions of others; stubbornly unreceptive to new ideas.

IMO I think that being close-minded is being closed off to something that could be beneficial or positive for you. For example, Automatically not liking someone because they don't where clothes that you like is being close-minded, because that person could very well be the nicest person in the world and wind up being your best friend, you don't know until you try. However, not trying drugs is not being close-minded because you know very well that that they cause harm to you, both mentally and physically, and just trying them could get you addicted. Therefore, there really is no chance of a positive outcome.

I would like to have a serious discussion about this. What do you think?

edit: In this thread, I'm wondering about society as a whole using the term close-minded in it's correct context. Do you think it is used properly or misused more often than not? >>



in your case - close-minded does not apply to you - because that person failed to give you proper explaination for labelling you. as for society, i'd say its both.

as for experimenting with drugs. it really depends what exactly you want to know or understand about the effects of certain drugs on your brain. if you dabble like once a month, or twice a year, it won't make you addicted or cause some serious mental stress.

to me, depending on the types of drugs like mush, acid, or xtc, i consider these as tools to be used with proper knowledge and with extreme temperance.

I've personal done those types of drugs. the premise of my use was spiritual and i was just curious, but i was not stupid.

the highlight from my experiences, was coming to an understanding what i can achieved while the under the influence. What normally takes rigorous years of meditation to achieve samatha (its a a intense euphoric state of tranquility, bliss, and complete silence), I did it in a few hours. i realized that what i felt during those time in deep meditation was the same as those dedicated meditation pracititioners would experiencee.

still to this day when i think about it, i am at lost for words to describe this etheric feeling - its beyond our dreams and nightmares.

and from my experiences i've made these short prose poems into chants. these chants i tried to impart my experiences to the listener, give them a glimpse of what i experienced. but thats another story all together.

peace

 

[Elledan]

Closed-mindedness: When you:

1) refuse to listen to the ideas of others
2) make statements about something, statements that don't make sense, even though you are knowledgable on that subject

Common sense: When you:

1) reject an idea after you've studied it and came to the conclusion that its benefits do not weigh up against the disadvantages
2) have at least some (correct) knowledge on a topic before you make any statements


Your case is thus clearly a case of closed-mindedness on the side of the other guy: you are knowledgable on the subject, you know what drugs do to your body and therefore chooses not to use them. He knows it too but still tries to make you use them.

 

[Moonbeam]

Maybe we need to be more open-minded about the closed-minded.

 

[Azraele]

Definately stick to your guns as BassDominator said. There is nothing close-minded about saying &quot;no&quot; to drugs. That's the smart thing to do.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Don't knock it til you've tried it

No, seriously, it's just another lamer jumping on the &quot;close-minded, name calling because someone else stands for something and they don't&quot; bandwaggon.