Today in my leadership class we were asked to discuss Colin Kaepernick and his protest against the treatment of black people in America. In case you aren’t as in the loop as you would like to be, Kaepernick has been sitting down during the National Anthem to protest police killings of black lives.

During the class we were asked to look at both sides of the debate, those that said it was disrespectful and those who agreed with what he did, and every shade in between. Our clas was extremely respectful even when disagreeing and was conscious of each other’s opinions the whole time. After the discussion she asked us to talk to our seat partners to discuss what value had led us to our opinion on the protest. My partner’s answer was open mindedness and understanding. She had had a hard time choosing a side of the debate as she understood both sides and found them both extremely viable. This led to my realizing that I am not understanding or open minded. In fact, these are some of my greatest faults.

When I was a child I was very set in my ways, as I grew up I began to believe the opposite of everything I had but was set in these new ways as well. It’s hard when you are so passionate about your beliefs to hear out others, and to really think about their beliefs and whether those beliefs are actually well supported or not.

It is important to be passionate about issues that you believe in, and being willing to fight for what you believe in. Its necessary to not change what you feel for just anybody and anything. Being open minded, however, doesn’t mean doing that. You don’t always have to agree with a person. Just be willing to entertain their opinions and values, and be willing to change your stance if theirs is better suited to your ideals.

The problem with being open minded is that it does make it really hard to pick sides on anything. Like my seat partner, who couldn’t choose a side of the debate, it is both a blessing and a curse. Being open minded can also lead to a person seeming indecisive and too easily influenced. Many people believe that in order to be a good leader you must stay strong on your stances and be unyielding in your views. In fact, politicians are often criticized on not staying true to opinions they gave in the past, sometimes years in the past. However, open mindedness is something all people should aim for, because without being willing to gain better insight into other’s opinions we are all just fighting each other with no sign of fixing anything.

Open mindedness is a virtue to strive for. Being able to see people’s point of view helps us compromise with each other and find solutions that work for all or most. It keeps us from all out war over every aspect of life. However, open mindedness is a skill and must be developed and worked on every single day by all of us or we will never learn how to see things from other’s perspectives.