"Liberal: A person so open minded that their brains have fallen out"

What does it mean to be open-minded? It's something that I personally strive for. I do my best not to judge others. But i think it's human nature to dismiss others' beliefs in favor of your own. So how can we battle it? And why? Maybe it's advantageous to an individual to be single-minded. But as a group of people- a culture- many cultures, isn't it better to understand one another? There would be less war (no war in fact), and everyone would get along. I probably sound like a hippie, right? Oh well.

I'm going to talk about religion now. I'm an atheist. Yup. Just saying that, I'm afraid of the judgment I might receive. I saw a post-secret once that read, "I don't believe in god," and it made me wonder- why does it have to be a secret? Why cant people just accept others beliefs? I understand religion pretty well, and I respect religion. I realize that there are benefits to religion. Churches offer a great sense of community. The idea of God gives some people better reason to live and offers consolation when dealing with death. But the people I have slightly less respect for are those that have blind faith. Those who don't have reasons to believe what they do. I've talked to many of my friends about their beliefs and mine. I've been to church. I've been on a church retreat. I've taken courses that delve into religions. So I like to think that i'm fairly educated on the subject. The beliefs I have are not blind beliefs. I don't believe them simply because someone told me to.

And that doesnt apply solely to religion. I'm fairly liberal, but that doesn't mean that I only talk to other liberals about politics. Heck, my dad and my older brother are both very conservative. I watch Fox occasionally- not because I agree with it, but because it's good to understand why other people think what they do.

I strive to understand other peoples beliefs. If you know the same facts that I know and you can draw a different conclusion than me, then that's great. If you and I have an hour long discussion on God, and you hear everything I say, and it does nothing to change your beliefs, I respect that. I even admire that.

But I think that as people, it's our duty to understand each other. If you believe differently than I do, I welcome you to share your opinions. tell me things I dont know. Preach god. I'll listen. But DO NOT close your ears when I try to share my opinion.

Even though I know no one is really going to read this, I'd really like to know what people think.