"Bianca, take off your blinders!"
Many people have this one-track mindset-- unexposed to culture, diversity, and what I like to call, "The Crazies." To be honest, I used to have that one-track mindset. I was simple, sweet, and American. I was raised to believe the only way to solve problems were those I had learned from my family, friends, and religion. I was not raised nor interested in reading other opinions, theories, or philosophies. After my first year of college, I had a conversation with a close friend whom I admire dearly. He was a “crazy,” but I loved it. He grew up in San Francisco and, at the time, was attending Bard College in New York. One warm summer night we decided to bring a mattress onto our summer camp’s cafeteria roof. We were lying under the bright sierra mountain stars, debating about who knows what. He was irritated, I could tell. Finally he said:
"Bianca, take your blinders off!"
I looked at him and said, "What the f*ck does that mean?" Then I listened. I finally listened.
It wasn't until later that night that I had cared for opinions outside my small town. For the next couple months, I began to read about the world. I began to unintentionally change myself. I considered other religions. People laughed. I began a sketchbook. People called me fake. I changed my major from Business to Journalism. People stuck up their noses. Now, I am one of those “Crazies.” I am different, but I am ME.
This entire blog was inspired from an essay I just wrote for a Media Ethics course. I end my essay with the statement:
“Considering more than one theory leads to a variety of possibilities in which one can choose a method that best fits their morality and personality. Like John Mill said, most people ‘…have never thrown themselves into the mental position of those who think differently from them, and consider what such persons may have to say and consequently they do not, in any proper sense of the world, know the doctrine which they themselves profess’ (1858, pp.42-42). The more knowledge and exposure one absorbs from the world in which he or she exists, will lead to a more complete development of one’s individual self.”
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