By trying to qualify what it means to be open-minded you aren’t you attempting to narrowly define it by your own standards? Being open minded never meant that you have to agree with everything. Then you are a hypocrite or a simpleminded follower with no beliefs of your own. You must take certain views that you know as your own personal truths or simply follow those of others.
People are a culmination of personality, life experiences, personal beliefs and health and enviroment and even genetics. All these things make us the individuals that we are. It is possible to fit into more than one category. No human being is just one thing.
You can be conservative and open minded. It just means that you are a conservative who doesn’t rule everything out. But some things that you feel you know through the culmination of things may lead you to lean one way or another.
For instance. Some may say I am conservative because I don’t believe in abortion. But at the same time, I am sure that I cannot put upon other people my morals. Especially since I cannot with 100 percent conviction claim to know when life begins morally speaking. For myself I rather never do it and I wish no one ever had to do it. But I wouldn’t say this makes me liberal. Just not willing to back this dog in the fight. Now of a newborn to adult is much clearer to me.
People will also say someone is open minded when they are willing to hear both sides of a story and then make a decision on where they stand. It does not and should not mean that they have to agree with you or they are not open minded. It also does not mean that they may reach a conclusion on bias. Sometimes things just make better sense.
If you told to buy a ticket for the lottery because I will win. I may buy it. But it won’t mean that I don’t believe that the odds may be against me. Knowledge of the statistics tell me you are more than likely wrong. It’s not through bias. It is a numerical statistical fact. I may hope to win but I could chose not to play. Doesn’t mean I’m close minded. I just don’t want to flush that dollar down the drain.
If we didn’t set certain standards for ourselves then we would be like children raised without morals or values. We would believe every argument ever made. We would never come to any conclusion.
What you should be asking is, why do we insist on labeling everyone? Sure it makes it easier to figure out who is more like ourselves, but it can also limit our knowledge.