The Closing of the American Mind
This song was inspired by a book of the same name by Alan Bloom. Bloom was not a Christian, nor is the book a Christian book, but as a university professor, Bloom made a shocking discovery. He noted that as students became convinced that there was no absolute truth, as they became more "open minded", they became less interested in learning anything outside of themselves, because they felt their truth was just as good as anyone else's. Bloom noted that this dangerous way of thinking actually shut down any reason for discovery of any type of learning anything outside of their own culture. He also expanded how that could affect relationships, as well. This "open mindedness" actually negated any need to understand truth, and indeed even the will to even know any truth. In other words, this "open mindedness" was really a great closing.
"Open your mind", that's the mantra for today that's so prevalent, Americans accept this as the way.
This belief is like their luxury sofa (it's deep seated), and it pleases them to think that it's achievement of peace, with the assumption that the root of all societies ills is who possesses the truth causing a struggle of will. They say "this is why there's slavery and why men kill. Men take a hold of a position and refuse to yield. So if truth is why they fight and kill for wht they think is right, let's adopt the ideology that truth ain't black and white". Whoa, truth that's got exceptions is a truth that's no objective. If it's all about perspective then it's wholly ineffective. This moral stance that truth is up to the individual removes the quest for answers, like objective truth is mythical. It all seems so noble, but what they've done is instilled, not just a lack of understanding, but a lack of the will.
Hook: With tolerance on our minds, we open them up, we're saying 'truth is what you make it' and we soaking it up, but we've developed tunnel vision we're so focused on us, we've also developed indifferenct to those who ain't us. So if truth begins with you.... then your mind is closed.
This relativism, this individualism has a lot of implications and I will name just a few of them: (1) We're losing communication (because) we don't like opposing views. All we see is two different views, and a right for us to choose. But if noone is truly right, we turn out to be just a bunch of mirrors, reflective of what we see. (2) Which means morality's determined by the majority or whoever's asserting their truth with greater authority. (e.g.) If they're mocking family we fall right in line. (3) Degradation of community is right behind. All we see is the here and now so relationships fall. We're like regional truckers, we're not there for the long haul. Look, struggle is necessary to discover the truth that's not conceived by other men who act like they have a clue. Since they were born of this earth, they're just as flawed as me and you, (they're) just as bound by whatever is cool, (but) we need to be loosed.
(Hook)
We speak of morals and ethics and use the words interchangebly. We don't ask "what do they mean?", we ask "what do they mean to me?". Then we act accordingly, with no regard to the truth. (We) then miscommunicate the message when we mangle their use. So it is with our lifestyles, how we're living our lives out. We don't like what we're seeing, so we're just turning the lights out. The nature of any sort of it's truth is that it's devisive, even by an "open minded" standard you're being decisive. Accept an idea, then you reject its antithesis, and if someone believed the opposite, then there's conflict. The answer? The truth is sought outside of ourselves. Something that's resolute, unchanging, and absolute. See, morals are behaviors based on standards we set. But we've got to move beyond that, and shoot for ethics, which says that "this" is the standard by which we ought to behave. So this is absolutely true... we need to be saved.
(Hook 2)