Keep an open mind-it will last longer

Camp News, Volume 3, Issue 154, 23 December 1942, Page 3

Keep an open mind-it will last longer

the S °“ ethin ß worrying about he number of people who make up their minds once and for all on some point or other 1 ' n some own advantage N t alwa to their adv antage and certainly not to anyone elese’s. “dln’t 7 SUr „ t 0 kn W ° f people who What dance ; you may even be one. What that means is that they’ve decided that they can’t do it, and they’re no going to take any other evidence. Yet you find in the Army that everyone has learnt something he never thought he could do. How many civilians imagined they could sleep in the open with a single blanket, and be none the worse for it? The thing about the Army, of course, is that they just have to learn new ways. The ordinary civilian learns new ways very slowly—no one makes him learn them. And half of it is pure laziness. We get hold of some method of doing a thing, and when someone comes along with a better one we can’t make the effort to try it out. “It was like that in my day.” New mental outlooks ought to be easier to acquire than new physical achievements. They don’t seem to be. How many people realise that in any argument there is ALWAYS something to be said on the other side? How many . times have you condemned someone as dead wrong in his views, without taking the trouble to see what possible grounds he can have had for holding them? We take up our sides in every controversy, and we only look at the arguments that fit in with the side we’ve taken. People argue that religion is non-sense/ that doctors are saints, or quacks, or ruthless, or pub-lic-spirited. They never deliberately decide to argue against their own present beliefs. Yet it’s the best mental tonic in the world. And as for getting a family to alter its opinion of one of its members —that’s the hardest thing of all. A man may be thought stupid at 40 because he did badly in his first school at the age of three. While if John says he wants to join the Navy when he’s 8, he’s likely to find himself in it at 17, unless he takes a say in it himself. It’s worth trying, a little conscious openmindedness. Next time someone disagrees with you, see what he really does believe. Next time a thing looks impossible, have a shot and see. Next time you’re going to turn down ’ someone’s suggestion, take it up ini stead No need to vacillate all the time, or to switch too rapidlyl from one • view to another. In fact, you’ll find that the more you’re open-minded, the more confident and secure your opinions are. But, however strong they are, be

ready to try out their defences properly. Don’t just argue, but see that the other side gets a fair chance. Imagine the mind of a man who won’t accept motor transport, or radio, or telephone. It makes you smile. But I can promise you that some of your own ideas are just as outworn and unhelpful. Instead of freezing your mind at the age of 16 or so, you’ll be giving it a long life and a changeful one. In fact, you’ll get Jone of the most pleasant feelings in the world—you’ll be surprised.