So recently I had a conversation that went something like this:
Hippie: I would love to be a bartender because you can meet all kinds of people and hear their stories!
Me: That's true, but you have to deal with so many messy drunk people. I personally couldn't handle that.
Hippie: Yeah, well, maybe you're just close minded!
Gosh, you say that like it's a bad thing.
I mean, sure, it's good to entertain different opinions and try new things, but not at the cost of having a value system. The things you are judgmental (or not judgmental) about determine your personality and core values, and thus make you an individual. For example, who would I be if I didn't talk shit about hippies for being into free love, excessive drug use, bad hygiene, and calling me close minded about the dumbest shit?
Here's a pretty extreme example. Have you ever met someone who likes everything and everyone? People like that are always reeeeeally nice, never judge you for anything, and therefore are impossible to openly dislike. But at the same time, they have no personality of their own. It's like they're alien robots from the planet Kind or something. Their total open-mindedness and inability to pass judgment on anything more meaningful than their favorite breakfast cereal is, on some level, loathsome.
And best quantified in chart form.
Thief! You stole my curve!
http://www.prepaidreviews.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/laffer_curve.jpg
Posted by: Arthur Laffer | May 05, 2009 at 12:49 PM