Firesign Theater did a radio sketch in the late 60s that I remember well. Several hippies are talking assuring themselves and each other with the lines “I’m groovy. Are you groovy?,” “Yeah, I’m groovy.” and “We’re all groovy.”

Another man enters the scene and they start a new chorus. “He’s not groovy.” and “Hey, you’re not groovy.” The man protests that he is too, groovy. But the group decides that, in fact, the newcomer is not groovy and needs to be sent back to for regrooving. The result, they hope, is that the man will return groovy, just like them.

I understood hippies to favor peace, love and understanding in the world. Being different was OK. We should all have tolerance for one another, according to this counter culture. Turns out, they wanted everyone to be the same different as their different. The hypocrisy of “Tolerance for me, but not for thee,” was evident to my almost adolescent mind.

I’m often reminded of the self-groovy crowd when I hear people hold forth on their political opinions. Presidential election years seem to bring out the “groovier-than-thou” attitude in many Americans. Perhaps it is that I just hear from old hippies or wish-they-were-hippies.

I don’t decry this generation or this election cycle as being any worse than others. (I’d be happy to share the details of the Jefferson/Adams nastiness in 1796 and 1800 with anyone who is interested). I’m not really surprised, for instance, by those who loudly claim that George Bush has trampled civil rights and will shout down anyone who disagrees with them.

It’s easy to lose the capacity for rational thought when you refuse to consider opinions other than your own. You believe X. You only listen to people who believe X. It becomes easier and easier to be intolerant of any one who does not passionately embrace X.

The image of standing in an echo chamber shouting, comes to mind.

The case of CoachDeb is instructive here. CoachDeb is the Twitter name of Deborah Micek, a successful business mentor who lives in Hawaii. People follow her on Twitter, read her blogs, listen to her webinars and podcasts, buy her books and attend her seminars. People do all that because Deb helps them improve their business and make money.

To some of her followers, all the free advice and helpful instruction was not enough. Deb spoke her mind about the recent presidential debates. That wasn’t groovy, for some.

Deb noticed that more than a few people stopped accepting her free success advice because they didn’t agree with her politics. Not that it really hurt her bottom line. The incident just serves to illustrate the tendency of some people close up their minds when they get information they may have to think about. Even when it means losing access to information that could be very useful.

Those who have read this blog for very long may have already guessed my conclusion. I like to think about things and consider different points of view. I get comments from all sorts who have definite views on various topics. I thank you for sharing them. Honest discussion is valued here.

I like to think I have enough confidence in my positions to withstand criticism. And the ability to change my position when new information comes to my attention.

I’m just sayin’

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