Throw Out The Bathwater But Keep The Baby

I threw out the "bathwater" but kept the "baby" because it can grow & learn. Always keep the good and throw out the bad but don't avoid discovering the good just because there is bad around it. There's a difference between being a "student" and being a "disciple". As a disciple of Yeshua the Christ I study the Scriptures and follow him in faith for my lifestyle & moral compass. As a student I study philosophy from all over the world such as that of Confucius, Sun Tzu, Mushashi, Lao Tzu, Zhuangzi, Griot wisdom and many others to learn concerning the world I live in.

I'm not a perfect disciple or student but I'm learning. I've studied Niccolo Machiavelli, Elijah Muhammad, W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, James Baldwin, "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and other eclectic sources. I listen to MSNBC, CNN, FOX, BBC, Al Jazeera, and other news sources as well as the popular pundits on them whether I agree with them or not because I'm a student and not their disciple.  

I've studied various religious texts & religions also but I don't believe them all. I study my enemies more than I do my allies, because it's hard to talk with someone if you don't know what they're talking about. I don't condemn folks because they use words such as "doulas, griots, gurus" and the like which aren't mainstream concepts. There was a time I was so dogmatic in my zeal & lack of understanding that I condemned anything or anyone that didn't align with my personal beliefs.

As I continued to learn & listen more I began to abandon some of the things & ideas I once believed in because I no longer agreed with them. Some things I've held on to because they've proven to be true, and I will continue to believe these things as immutable truths that don't change regardless of how much people or the times do. Never be so narrow minded that you can't learn from opposing sources or are closed to new information. Sometimes you're enemies may be right but that doesn't mean you support them. It just means you agree with truth regardless of who is telling it. 

Bad people can also use good things and make it all look bad. The worst obstacles to our learning is believing in unfounded superstitions, misinformation that feeds our bias & prejudice, and a refusal to listen to anyone or anything based on appearance & hearsay out of tradition with no solid explanation as to why. Don't let folks box you into ignorance because they're afraid of information. Keep the baby but change the water. ~ Mr. Blaktastic