


There are two quotes about the importance of maintaining an open mind on issues, basically conveying the same message, left to us by two great intellectual minds.
Albert Einstein noted, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” This was demonstrated most recently by the actor Tim Allen.
As an eleven-year-old child in 1964, Allen suffered the loss of his father in a car crash, caused by a drunk driver. Allen’s hatred for the driver remained with him for over 60 years. But, on September 21, 2025, he underwent a change after listening to Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, at her husband’s memorial service.
Allen heard Erika’s words loud and clear. While she remained strong and dignified as she spoke, Erika—her voice understandably cracking with some emotion—announced, despite the loss of her loving husband and the father of her two children, she had forgiven the killer.
The moment impacted Allen tremendously. It caused him to realize he had been wrong all these years for holding on to his anger. With an open heart and open mind, he finally forgave the drunk driver who had taken his father’s life so long ago.
While we heard failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton call for all politicians “to stop demonizing each other,” she could not leave it at that. No, like a spoiled child to whom getting in the last word was more important than keeping the peace, she wrongly accused Republicans of being more violent in their actions and words. At a time when America needs political figures to promote principle over politics, she opted for the latter.
Hillary’s missed opportunity to promote principle brought to mind another quote about one’s inability to keep an open mind. This one was by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who correctly lamented, “Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
Like a family, where the parents, by virtue of their status are the examples their children emulate, the same is true of voters who look to their political leaders on how to move their agendas forward. Our elected officials are doing a bad job of encouraging substantive debate and civil negotiation to move in such a direction. This is reflected by an America that is filled with rage and hate—exhibited essentially entirely by our Democrat politicians—resulting in assassinations, riots, threats, and other forms of violence.
While we need our politicians to opt for civility over aggressive rhetoric, Hillary has shown us that is unlikely to happen. But some sort of first step is needed to see if there is some level of civility and decency to which our politicians can at least tacitly agree, with each party then quietly pressing its members to maintain such a level of decorum.
Congress does have the right to approve non-binding resolutions—i.e., resolutions which both the House and Senate have passed but are not forwarded on to the president for signature in order to maintain such a non-binding status. These are known as “Sense of Congress” resolutions, which convey a message of hope concerning an issue—one that a majority of Congress agrees on.
Sadly, a Sense of Congress resolution seeking to promote civility and respect would obviously not be signed by all members of our legislative chambers. But, at least it would give a sense of hope that those who did sign it recognized the need to set an example for the American people to maintain a certain level of decorum in their daily dealings with each other. It may be wishful thinking but hopefully, voters would recognize that those refusing to sign off on such a simple resolution are failing to embrace a basic level of civility, carefully considering whether to reelect them in the next election.
Einstein and Shaw left similar messages—the former taking it from the viewpoint of an open mind leading to change, the latter from the viewpoint of a closed being unable to do so. Regardless of which side of the aisle it is, it is the closed mind that is destroying America today. Even if our politicians cannot agree on political issues, they need to demonstrate to voters there is a minimal standard they will seek to maintain.
During the early days of Dodge City, Marshal Wyatt Earp sought to maintain a certain level of non-violent behavior and civility as the law mandated anyone entering town to surrender their guns. It was a law most frontier towns required as well to maintain the peace. Most people complied with the law for the common good of society. Our congresspeople need to recognize there is an immediate need to start doing the same in their chambers. If the Wild West could achieve civility, why can’t our congress?

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.