Ambiguity is essential -- it's the sign of a growing mind. Internal ambiguity is a reflection of the outward contradictions we observe. It is not necessarily our goal to resolved disparate views -- a large mind has room for many things.
John Kerry -- I didn't like him but for one quality - his deep, unresolved conflict about the War in Viet Nam. He wanted to serve, he wanted to be a hero, and that's why he earned his medals. Then he threw them away, because the whole war was a bitch. Decades later, Kerry's mental state is still ambivalent about that conflict -- in that sense he represents a large number of American men.
On another note, I will no longer use the term "open mind." I use the term "growing mind" and "large mind." Openness, being open, is one of our new faux virtues. My mind is not open. My mind has boundaries, barriers, walls, portals, gates, and doors. My mind has visiting hours, but I run the joint, and not every notion is welcome.
In support of that resolve, I have included an image of the famous slogan from the Revolutionary War, "Don't Tread on Me."
Quoting this slogan in a meaningful way, as it applies to myself, and as it also applies to our national defense, should not be read as any endorsement of President Bush's wildly irresponsible invasion of Iraq.
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