Do you see the whole elephant?

I was recently reminded of children's book that I used to read as a kid. I am not sure what it was called, but it was about five blind men and an elephant. The way that i remembered it, the men encounter an elephant but are unsure of what it is, so they each decide to investigate it. One man touches the elephants leg and he tells the others that it is a large tree. The second man approaches the elephant from behind and when he touches the the elephants tail he proclaims that it is a rope. The third man decides that the elephants side is like a wall. The fourth man who feels the ear declares it is a fan, and the fifth man compares the trunk to a snake. The men argue and none of them would concede to being wrong, they were all so sure of what they felt. Then a young boy comes upon them and tells them that they are all right but they are also all wrong. None of them were able to see the big picture. They were so focused on what was right in front of them it crippled their ability to actually understand what it was. 

I searched online and found a version very similar to this one that i liked.

It was six men of Indostan

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the Elephant

(Though all of them were blind),

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind

The First approached the Elephant,

And happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

“God bless me! but the Elephant

Is very like a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,

Cried, “Ho! what have we here

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me ’tis mighty clear

This wonder of an Elephant

Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,

And happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up and spake:

“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant

Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,

And felt about the knee.

“What most this wondrous beast is like

Is mighty plain,” quoth he;

“ ‘Tis clear enough the Elephant

Is very like a tree!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said: “E’en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

Deny the fact who can

This marvel of an Elephant

Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant

Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

Moral: 

So oft in theologic wars,

The disputants, I ween,

Rail on in utter ignorance

Of what each other mean,

And prate about an Elephant

Not one of them has seen!

To me this story illustrates the way that a lot of  people view religion. It is a common area for people to make assumptions and be rather closed minded. I think whether or not you are religious it is important to make an effort to understand someone else's beliefs and culture before you judge them. After all you cannot accurately assess something if you don't have sufficient knowledge about it.