Do you believe that being more open minded and free thinking, is what being a liberal is all about?

Answer 1

Not really. I find most of my friends on the left automatically look to government to solve social and economic problems rather than being open-minded to any other alternative.

Additionally, I find that if you debate someone who considers himself liberal long enough and do not concede any points to him, he resorts to name calling and ad hominem attacks. "You must not care about poor people if you don't think the government should pay for all healthcare," is the example that comes to mind.

Once you are an ideologue, you are no longer open-minded or free-thinking, by definition.

Answer 2

Being open minded and free thinking are qualities one may have as an individual. They are not necessarily the qualities of a liberal or a conservative. Liberals tend to be interested in change and in proposing new programs or solutions to problems while conservatives are generally interested in maintaining traditions and stability. This is an oversimplification but gets you in the right direction. For a healthy society we need intelligent liberals and conservatives who can listen to each other and compromise when needed.

Answer 3

Liberal is just a name or title. Liberals are against owning guns, want more government controls on ALL things related to individual rights and that is not liberal thinking or open mindedness. It is very narrow thinking and shows the love of power they put ahead of the of the peoples rights.

Answer 4

No I don't. Liberals all think the rest of us cannot care for ourselves and they alone are uniquely qualified to provide for us. According to them we should be dependant on them and the government for our needs and a free thinking person who has made good choices in life and earned a good living should be taxed more for his income and property. Liberals think we should all be tolorant of others while they despise patriotism, Christianity, and the values of hard work and personal responsibility. I do not see liberals being open minded or free thinking.

Answer 5

Actually no. Im an open-minded and free-thinking conservative, and there are many close-minded, bigoted liberals. Liberal means you are on the left side of the political spectrum and conservative means you are on the right, regarding to American politics.

Remember, being open-minded doesnt mean you have to believe everything you hear. Being open-minded means you are willing to listen to the other side and consider the validity.

Answer 6

Liberals want the government to run everything. Liberals want to run the government. "Open minded and free thinking" are phrases that absolutely do not apply to liberals, today.

Answer 7

Neither are if you really were open-minded you wouldnt belong to one side or the other because you can relate and understand to both points of view.

Answer 8

That has nothing to do with liberalism. I hate to burst your braincell but free thinking derives from people who have no political affiliation whatsoever. Such as myself. You will only have the ability to truly think freely when you no longer have outside influences manipulating your thought patterns.

Answer 9

Yes it is. It's about rational thinking. Look at the facts before making up your mind.

Cons tend to make up their mind first, then search for any excuse to justify their beliefs.....whether or not their reasons line up or contradict their other beliefs is irrelevant to them.

Answer 10

Not at all. However, it is thought that as people expose themselves to more ideas and world perspective that they become more liberal.