"Be Fair" "Present Both Sides" "Be Open Minded"

@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
December 11, 2008 10:30pm CST
These come up a lot in discussions here at MyLot. But if we all did these in all our discussions, there wouldn't be much discussion. If I presented all sides of the discussion, what is left for the commenters to say? I can't tell you what you're reasons for being here at MyLot are, but mine are to put my opinions out for others to read and comment on. Therefore my articles are almost always about my opinion on a topic. When I click on someone else's articles, I expect to read their opinion about a topic, then take some time to respond with mine. As far as being fair, again, why? One thing I've learned in life is fairness isn't fair. Fairness is always slanted towards one side or the other. Would it be fair for me to keep my opinions to myself just because you don't think they are "fair"? The line that entertains me most is, "Be Open Minded". I bet most people who say it have no idea what it even means. Most people seem to think it means, "see things my way". John Lennon is often quoted as saying, "A mind is like a parachute, it's useless if it isn't open". My corollary to that is "... but it's also useless if it's always open." Can a person whose mind is always open have any opinions of their own? Do they have any firm convictions that would take heaven and earth to shake them of? I have known people like that. It seems that they can't come up with a statement without citing someone else's opinion to back it up. They seem to drift with every breeze that blows their way. Of course, there is the other side of these coins. The people who go out of their way to be unfair, can't stand the fact that others might take a different side than they do, or are so rigid in every opinion they hold that they might as well not even be in a discussion site like MyLot. But those people are easy to deal with... in fact, I rarely deal with them more than it takes me to decide that their discussions aren't worth reading anymore.
2 people like this
2 responses
@gewcew23 (8007)
• United States
18 Dec 08
Last time I checked there is no fairness doctrine here on MyLot. When I write a discussion I mean to express my view on set topic. My opinions are for everyone to read and decide what to do with them. I have only one view of the world and that is what I write about. If someone wants another opinion fell free to go some where else, because I am not about to write about every view of the world.
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Jan 09
If I wanted fair I would have stuck with reading websites instead of getting involved in interactive ones. In my experiance "Be fair" means give in, "Present both sides" means accept the enemies lies and "be open minded" means stop thinking. One of my favorite lines in "How to Win Friends and Influence People" quotes a rule of physics. No work can be done without friction. In the same line of thinking a man without opponents is worthless. This is why I don't like "good politicians". In order to be "good" they have to convince most of the people they agree with them. Since many of these people disagree it's obvious the politician doesn't agree as much as they think. The only way to convince people otherwise is to never do anything in opposition to their view. the fact that this means never doing anything seems to get overlooked by the average voter.