by Debbie Gillotti

Created on: March 10, 2009

It's bad enough that we must deal with judgmental people in our daily lives but when it involves a family member it can cause unnecessary heartache and sometimes a total breakdown of the family structure.

The people with narrow minds would never agree that they are if the fact was pointed out to them, because somewhere in their being, they know that it is a character flaw. Yet, it has become something so familiar to them, that they would not know how to change. These family members prefer to remain firm on the premise that anything that exists beyond what they believe must be wrong, must be sinful and must not even be considered. They remain ignorant and narrow minded and rarely choose to even consider another alternative to an opinion.

Fear, lack of knowledge and lack of socialization are some of the factors that can cause one to have a narrower vision of the world. As children, we are born with an open mind. We know no fear; know nothing of hate or discrimination. As we are made to understand that fear of some things is good, adults tend to over use this form of discipline causing more harm than good.

Such is so in the matter of race, sexuality, religion. Because of the opinions and beliefs that our parents have, there is often a lot of pressure to adhere to similar ways. We are not encouraged to think much beyond what we are being taught. It is safe, but not necessarily healthy. Our family will have good intentions, but experience will tell us that good intentions don't always work out for the best. In the confines of our home, behind closed doors, one can tend to put the fast moving world aside for a little while. What we are taught about life, religion, sexuality, may not be what we choose to believe once that door is opened. Once we are socialized in school and are offered education on many subjects, questions fill our mind and our entire belief system is altered. Perhaps a detail that our family members never considered would happen.

As we get older, a small group of free thinking individuals will get out and experience the world. Be it through living life, getting involved in reading, writing or watching movies. They will travel, learn about other cultures and become acquainted with people of many different lifestyles. They will learn that despite the differences, we are all just human. They will learn, most importantly, about themselves. Discovery will be found at every turn and they will grow and learn from that.

We, as humans can make a positive change to be more open to the world around us and encourage our children to do the same. I doubt that we will ever have a world free of pain and suffering but we must learn that one bad apple does not spoil the whole bunch. I know it's a corny statement, but it rings very true. There is so much good out there to experience and it does not matter who we choose to share it with, under what sun or with or without a god of some kind. Make a point of learning about the world around you. You will be a better person for it.

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