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Progressive Values Stories: Stephanie Leaf on Open Mindedness
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I met Stephanie Leaf at a Wellstone training workshop in Sacramento, California. She talked with me about her progressive values of tolerance for ambiguity and open mindedness, but also shared her frustration at how being open minded, puts progressives at a disadvantage when talking to closed minded conservatives.
"A liberal is a man too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel.
Robert Lee Frost"
"People are very open-minded about new things--as long as they're exactly like the old ones.
Charles Franklin Kettering"
Stephanie Leaf: One of the things that frustrates me about the Democratic Party and about progressive people, and that’s been our biggest stumbling block in the winning of elections, is that one of the values that unites many of us is our tolerance for ambiguity, and our placing of such a positive value on dissent, and specially on our willingness to always listen to both sides of the issue.
And the Republicans, the conservatives, they’re the antithesis of this. There is one way to think, one way to be. If they have differences of opinion, they do it behind closed doors. They may have come to place lip service to diversity, but it’s not a kind of intellectual diversity that Democrats have traditionally valued.
In fact, sometimes people who consider themselves liberals, just frustrate the hell out of me, because they are willing to say “you know there’s one side to this question, then there’s also the opposite side”. And the consequences are number one, that we don’t present a clear message all of the time. And that’s wonderful, because the issues are complex, and there isn’t just one answer to things. But it’s also the source of our biggest weakness: how do we reduce complex messages to simple terms that can resonate with people. And to do that without selling out the kinds of things we value. How do we continue to value dissent and ambiguity, and yet still – I hate to use the word – market ourselves to the larger public?
Edwin: So, do you feel that way about ambiguity? Is that a value you have, tolerating ambiguity?
Answer: Well, you know, I’m a pretty focused person about the way I like to get things done, but I do believe there are always many layers to an issue, and that simplistic solutions are usually as phony as they are true. This is a very complicated world we live in, and anybody who says I have a simple answer, automatically makes me suspect.
That’s kind of a long-winded way of saying not because ambiguity is so wonderful, necessarily, but it’s a fact of life. And if you deny it, that’s what religion is based on, people who can’t tolerate ambiguity.
Edwin: Are there other words for ambiguity? Maybe open-mindedness.
Answer: They certainly have to go hand-in-hand.
Edwin: And how do they relate?
Answer: Once again, it goes back to the willingness to listen to other opinions. I mean, sometimes I’m not the most tolerant person myself when it comes to other people’s views, but as a larger political issue, it has been a hallmark of the Democratic Party, and those who consider themselves the liberal spectrum of it – the willingness to not just tolerate, but to listen to other views. So that certainly goes with open-mindedness.
I was raised by parents, my mother in particular, who placed a great value on always being able to look at different sides of an issue. I was also raised in a home that valued intellect and intellectual attainment. And that’s certainly a value that I still care a lot about. In fact, I still have to admit that sometimes as a child and even as an adult, I would become very impatient with my mother’s sometimes extreme willingness to consider both sides of an issue, because there does have to be a point where you take a stand on something.
Edwin: Do you remember an actual moment when that happened?
Answer: Yes, but some of them are a little too personal to discuss. I will tell you something else about open-mindedness. I was raised in something called Ethical Culture. And this was our religion. We were not Christians. We were not Jews. We went to Ethical Culture. And in the main meeting hall of Ethical Culture there was an inscription over it, and the inscription over it said “The place where man meets to seek the highest, is holy ground.”
Nowadays, I would think of that as very sexist, that it said it in terms of man, but if you can overlook that, that thought made an enormous impression on me, that the idea of pursuing the highest – not according to anybody else’s definition, not defined in terms of some simplistic god whose omniscient and omnipotent – but the idea of pursuing the highest, and pursuing what you believe is the best and most noble in terms of your own moral values. That’s what makes something holy – not someone else’s idea of a creed.
More Resources about Open Mindedness.
http://www.philosophyetc.net/2006/04/open-mindedness.html
"It's generally acknowledged that open-mindedness is a virtue. But there is some confusion as to what it actually involves. Too often, people confuse open-mindedness with indecisiveness."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/open-mindedness
"Having or showing receptiveness to new and different ideas or the opinions of others. See Synonyms at broad-minded."
Some Questions To Ponder:
What is the importance of open mindedness to you?
What does open minded mean to you?
If you're open minded, how can you talk effectively with people who are closed minded?
Do you have a personal story or anecdote of how you learned some insight into the values of open and/or closed mindedness ?
How would you define the word "Values" and "Principles"?
How are "Values" and "Principles" different?
What is personally the most important progressive value to you?
Do you have a personal story or anecdote of how you learned some insight into this value?
How does this progressive value differ from conservative values?
How have conservative values failed?
Edwin Rutsch
What Are Progressive Values? Documentary Project
http://ProgressiveSpirit.com
and Study Group
http://www.dfalink.com/group.php?id=2285
I agree with Stephanie Leaf.
Open-mindedness is a good thing but let's not be so open-minded that our brains are falling out.
Night, all.
{{waving back at Paine}}
Great Sketch from MadTV about Iraq and Iran
27.
*** cChalfonte***
Mon, 03/31/08
...Utterly unresponsive to my comment yet you offer it as a response to my comment. Israel was formed 50+ years ago. The nation of Israel won't be in a "civil war" during your lifetime or your children's. You continue to argue against the creation of the state of Israel. Done....50+ years ago.
===============
Our civil war and the reason for it, were a broad analogy of how ill-conceived both the U.S. and Israel were started from infancy. It was not a comparison or call to war.
I never argued against the creation of the State of Israel. I argue against the way it was created and the means of maintaining such a State by ethnic/religious purity and ethnic cleansing after forceably removing its indigenous peoples.
Saying that there is no need for a "Jewish State" does not mean I am against a homeland for Jews in Israel.
America was a homeland for all dispossessed, disenfranchise religious/ethnic people from its inception, but we did not make it a "Christian State" or a "Catholic State"
The idea that a piece of land will make Jews secure worldwide and insure against hatred and oppression is an obsolete concept in the nuclear age. The existence of the United States is more of an insurance against that than the possession of the Holy Land.
There are Jewish people who would agree with me, but the brainwashing and politics is strong against it, not to mention the hate from the cycle of violence.
I hope I see in my lifetime a great State of Israel, much larger geographically than the present one, but one that includes full particiption and citizenship of all Palestinians and other middle-easterners, regardless of faith or ethnicity.
True liberalism and open-mindedness is something that went out of style with Democrats when Reagan came into power.
the Democrats were bogged down with internal rivalries of whose "liberal dogma" was the right one, which was the antithesis of liberalism in itself.
The Reagan followers were asking people to be more open-minded and look at another side of the coin. It turned out to be the beginning of the wrong direction for America. But they were tapping into a frustration over the convoluted quagmire of defining liberalism. Ideological special interests were vying for power over the Democrats.
Later the business and religious special interest did the same thing to conservatism to the point where management and responsibility in government became everything but conservative.
So now the ball is in our court, and it doesn' t look like Obama is making the same mistakes.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4554668
Another superdelegate.
Good morning, everybody
Progressives just go with the flow; conservatives want to hold us back.
Since conservatism is contrary to nature, they need to dissemble.
Slogans in translation--
No new taxes = we're not charging for services we don't deliver
Doling out natural resources to our cronies = freedom from taxes
Straight talk from a twisted psyche.
hey, the whole line shows up, even with a hard return in rich text for Opera if i activate 'fit to width'
Will have to see what it does in Firefox.
Well, what happens is that the comment that I leave in the big box doesn't post. Yes, there are two comment boxes. This was written in the smaller one underneath the tool box.
you see, although there's a message number (10), there's nothing posted. That's because it didn't show up. I'm not sure I like this format. Given the generous font I'm using, there's only about six words to each line. Let's see what happens when I get to the bottom of the box. Ah, it gets a vertical scroll bar.
I should probably decrease the size of my font. Now, if I could just remember how. lol
OK, as is to be expected, changing the preferences in one browser doesn't affect another. Don't know if Opera has the same page style adjustment program.
Ugh, there are entirely too many options in the View program in Opera. If you go into "manage modes" in the style menu in View, there are about ten things to choose from to tailor the browser. i'd suggest you write down what you're starting from before you begin checkin and unchecking boxes.
I did not, of course, follow my own advice about keeping a record and merely checked a couple of things. Trying to see now what happens with the wrap after a hard return.
It would appear that Al Gore has better things to do than come to the rescue of the imploding Democratic Party:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/alliance-for-climate-change
8:29 am
BBC went with a format overnight that mimics this one, I really liked the way they packed the old front page with dozens of links with snippets. dang
Good to see Mike Gravel break away from the Democratic party..........others will follow if they havent done so already..............its 8.33 am
I don't see an imploding Party in need of saving. I see one working its way to a nominating convention with allocation rules that balance both sides of a ballot, ie. our candidate is opposite the name Democratic Party.
and it comes at a historic time when after drifting towards a duopoly for decades, a critical mass at the grassroots level has embraced progressive values, and is now challenging the status quo, and has one of two candidates willing to embrace that change and run with it
such that there are two fights going simultaneously, the fifty state stampede that took a majority into power up and down the ticket nationwide and still continues, pitting the grassroots against special interest insiders
and two powerful representatives of the two groups battling it out for the nomination for President
an epic battle like that has to be a little messy but if Obama succeeds it will last for decades
and it will be an explosion not an implosion
Phil wrote:
I don't see an imploding Party in need of saving. I see one working its way to a nominating convention with allocation rules that balance both sides of a ballot, ie. our candidate is opposite the name Democratic Party.
Time will tell...................
8:45am
Speaking before a group in Hudson, New Hampshire last night, McCain took criticism of MoveOn’s Petraeus ad to a whole new level, saying that they should not only be ashamed, but “ought to be thrown out of this country.”
Download | Play 
Download | Play (slightly out of sync)
“It’s disgraceful, it’s got to be retracted and condemned by the Democrats, and MoveOn.org ought to be thrown out of this country.”
Looks like the “straight-talking” McCain realizes how idiotic he sounded, and has already started to backpedal:
The McCain campaign clarified the senator’s comments for CBS News. “Senator McCain, like most Americans, is appalled by the MoveOn.org ad. Last night he expressed his outrage in words that did not convey his intended meaning. What he meant to say was that MoveOn’s smear of General Petraeus’ character should have no place in the American political debate.”
* rdorgan
Mon, 03/31/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
rd,
No, my pick all along has been..........Memphis. And they are peaking right now............Ive seen UNC alot this year, and granted they are very good but Ive seen them do alot of dumb things too..they are over rated IMO and KU will take them down..........my motto has alwyas been "smart basketball players will beat athletic basketball players"............most of the time.
Sorry about 21. i was just experimenting with how it works with no page style selected in Firefox.
i like the basic page style better.
It would appear that sequence is on this morning. not holding breath. 8:53 AM
Phil, re: I don't see an imploding Party in need of saving......
Thank you, Phil. I've read a lot of thoughtful posts about this race on many websites, but this to me says it the best. I see that hard work has tempered/honed your words with your great and broad work in the politics of writing political platforms! A Howardly to you for detailing so well what an historic event this is, even aside from gender and race.
we DO have the POWER!
and yes, we CAN change our politics to benefit we, the PEOPLE!!
(thank you, Howard!)
Based on what I saw on the morning shows this morning, it seems the word has gone out to the MSM on who to "blame" for the current Democratic stalemate and the answer is ...Howard Dean!
NBC even dragged out the scream this morning.
Not to be surprised, since the big-name reporters all hobnob with the establishment in Washington, who are scared to death of losing their preferred positions as arbiters of everything.
It's funny, but when people are used to nobody ever doing what they pormise, they get really surprised when someone does. Howard Dean is now a traitor to their expectations. Which suggests that a lot of people actually prefer not being in control of their own destinies. Failure is the preferred outcome, even if they won't admit it. BTW, i couldn't believe the line Hayden was pushing yesterday about al Qaeda being all excited about having regrouped and organizing a new offensive against the US. He really expects people to believe that the N.S.A.can listen in on conversations and guage their mood from their conversations, but they don't know where they are?
Pormise s/b promise
That's funny. I enabled 'show active frames border in View, manage styles, author mode and ended up with a black frame in my comment box and no cursor to begin with.
Also, when I use the hard return to skip to a new paragraph, there's no cursor, but there is a horizontal scroll that just keeps going on and on.
So, i've gotten rid of the black frame and got the cursor back. This is in Opera. I've also gotten rid of enable scroll bars in display. Who knows what difference that will make? The wrap works as long as I don't do a hard return or use a dash--
What happens when I do? If there's no scroll bar, will it go on and on and on ?
Yes, is the answer. Disabling the scroll bar doesn't actually disable.
Bring Back rail travel
The airlines are dying.
It was not a good week to be at the mercy of America's floundering air travel program. The price of aviation fuel is killing them. They can't fire any more employees or shed anymore pension obligations. There is no elasticity left in the system. Coming back from Denver yesterday, the chaos at the concourse gates was impressive. Nobody knew when or if a given flight would board, and they certainly didn't post any realistic information on the high-def screens at every gate. When asked for updates, the harried gate agents could offer none. So much for computer wizardry. It is interesting to see how passively the public accepts this. For now, they slump like war refugees in the blow-molded plastic seats, numb with fatigue, anxiety, and disappointment. But I wonder if there will be riots in the concourses sometime later this year.
9:58am
Phil:
If things are going so swimmingly for the Democrats, why are both Hillary and Barack polling behind McCain, and getting behinder?
I agree that the 50-state strategy will limit the damage to congressional candidates, but the voters are plenty fed up with the unmet expectations of the 110th.
10:01am
10:04 AM EDT
Clinton's support, humanity wanes Ben ZenitskyIssue date: 3/31/08 Section: OpinionBarack Obama possesses something his Democratic rival has proven time and again she is fundamentally incapable of bearing: human relatability. No matter how many times Hillary Clinton sends a wide-eyed flurry of acknowledgements to a crowd member she fools the camera into believing she actually knows and no matter how many time she tells us she has been down in the dredges and knows what it is like to face the challenges of everyday Americans (or bullet-dodgers for that matter), I simply do not believe her. And I am not alone....All Clinton had to do to solicit that same human emotion - that same heartfelt benevolence - was sympathize, and perhaps offer examples of individuals from her own life with whom she disagreed but remained close in spite of the fact. She did not. ...
10:05 AM EDT
Michael -
Good analysis.
I think KU will fall to NC, and UCLA the same to Memphis.
The final -- UNC.
New thread.
27.
Jo*in*Vermont
Mon, 03/31/08
Reply to this
Phil, re: I don't see an imploding Party in need of saving......
Thank you, Phil. I've read a lot of thoughtful posts about this race on many websites, but this to me says it the best. ….
we DO have the POWER!
and yes, we CAN change our politics to benefit we, the PEOPLE!!
(thank you, Howard!)
--------------
There will be always people around who are trying to look a step further, an inch deeper and a bit wider..., just out of curiosity..., lol.
Those people may actually envision though neither exploding nor imploding the Party (ANY, of course) but its’ (not premature, just in-time!) quiet, gentle and smooth self-disbanding..., not lol.
. . . the (Wall Street) Journal also reports that Obama will get the support of North Carolina’s entire Democratic congressional delegation before that state’s primary on May 6.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/31/843926.aspx
John Edwards has become irrelevent as to an endorsement. Perhaps he has overblown his own importance in his mind at this stage of the game, who knows.
Rich Kolker....
Don't you think that part of the Dean bashing lately is that they want to make sure he won't emerge or become a problem again at the Convention?
Why didn't we attack the media when they first played the "scream". It always seemed to me that we should have raised h2ell. Trippi never asked that we do anything.
We don't seem to complain, we just talk about it amongst ourselves.
Groups have shows taken off the air when they object to content. We think we have the power, why do we put up with it?
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By * cChalfonte* on Mar 31, 2008 12:21 AM EDTGovernor Dean is first.