Opinions 13/12/2005 As the man with a wooden leg said, it's a matter of opinion.And I've been thinking about opinions. Reading blogs makes one very aware that it's true what they say: everyone has an opinion. What is less often noticed, however, is that some people have more opinions than others. I have known people who have an opinion on everything; you mention a subject, any subject, and they will be able to grace you with their opinion on it. Such people are rich in the currency of opinion and are always very generous in sharing their wealth.Others, however, seem to have been at the end of the line when opinions were handed out; they have few and compound the fact by hoarding those that remain to them. Which brings to mind the parable of the talents, although I am not convinced that it applies in this instance. Both money and talents have a value, after all, whereas opinions are so common that they have become almost worthless. A penny for your thoughts, say you? Hah, a hundred years ago that might have been the going rate; these days you can't give them away.I know there are a few who manage to squeeze a living out of their opinions; newspaper editors and television talking heads, for instance. But these are not really selling their opinions. To a large extent they are preaching to the converted, sharing their opinion amongst those who already have that opinion anyway. There is little real trading that goes on, just mutual bolstering and encouragement.So we tend to collect in groups, sharing our opinions with those of like mind and applauding one another as we do so. If someone from another group intrudes, the immediate result is a fight, with opinions thrown in anger and scorn exchanged in copious quantities.The problem is that we all think our opinions are based on the facts and must be correct, therefore. It does not seem to occur to us that facts are so numerous that we must pick and choose which ones to take and which to leave. Being human, we will accept those facts that we like and ignore those that make us uncomfortable. Then off we go with our chosen collection of facts and we construct our opinions around them. Small wonder that we emerge with so many different opinions.The ideal would be to wait until we have all the facts before forming our opinions. Like most ideals, however, this is impossible, so great is the weight of facts with which we are confronted. Some people, a very few, will reserve judgement, knowing that they do not have all the facts. The great majority of us will shrug and enter the fray with whatever we have managed to glean.It is tempting to see those who are slow to form opinions as the wise amongst us. And, if that is so, surely the man who has no opinion at all is the wisest. Since he is staying silent while he adds to the facts at his command, he must be gaining a far wider view of things than those who go out to battle with only a selection of their favored facts at hand.I wonder whether it is possible to have no opinion on anything. Being a dreamer, I ponder on this and try to imagine how an opinion-less person would function. How would such a person be received in society?A philosopher and thinker of the past, Desiderius Erasmus (1466 - 1536), said this: "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." It seems a good saying until one thinks hard about it. To refute it, H.G. Wells wrote a short story entitled The Country of the Blind, in which he shows that the blind would regard someone with sight as a madman.In point of fact, Mr Wells need not have bothered with his story for we already have a perfect example of what he wanted to say. Jesus Christ had better vision than any of us and remember what we did to Him.Which all leads me to think (yes, it's my opinion) that our hypothetical opinion-less person would receive rough treatment in our world. In fact, I suspect that we have already prepared our ammunition against such a phenomenon. We have all heard the saying that it is better to remain silent and be thought stupid, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...Technorati tags: Opinions.
Clive
Jeff Over the years I have become much less inclined to try to persuade others politically, especially through argument. More and more it seems, like you said, that each side is merely boistering the support of the "choir" while further alienating those who disagree. At times I'll get particularly disturbed and SHOUT my opinion vocally or in writing, usually realizing soon after it probably didn't endear anybody to my way of thinking. I try to keep my blog focused on my personal struggle to be more pleasing to God and more beneficial to mankind. Even if it doesn't attract those people who seem to get off on endlessly debating the latest issues, if those few who read it can be blessed, and if we can work together to become better, I'll feel far more satisfied that knowing I had thousands of readers per day arguing back and forth with me. Date Added: 13/12/2005
Yzabel I tend to think that I'm of these people who don't have the skill to form opinions. Or maybe I take my sweet time to form opinions on a handful of topics only? I don't know. I've always feel like I should turn my tongue in my mouth seven times before speaking, as we say here, because I want to be as careful as possible in order to not hurt other people's sensitivies. As a matter of fact, over the years, I've stopped doing that, because no matter what I do, there'll always be someone to disagree with me. I just try to not word my opinions in an aggressive way, period. The rest will be dealt with in time. Now, whether a truly opinionless person would become everyone's victim, I don't know. At the very least, they'd probably be considered a complete idiot, and pointed the finger at for being "so naive and stupid" :/ (And I haven't read Wells' short story, but it really wouldn't surprise me if things were this way rather than Erasmus'. Humanity is just like this!) Date Added: 13/12/2005
Gone Away A wise decision, Jeff. Ultimately, our blogs reflect who we are; let's hope that we can be part of the answer rather than the problem. :) Date Added: 13/12/2005
Gone Away Knowing you, Yzabel, I have to say that it is not a matter of not having the skill to form opinions; rather, it is that you prefer to think things through before deciding. If that isn't wisdom, I don't know what is (and I love the French proverb of turning the tongue seven times before answering!). :) Date Added: 13/12/2005
Jeff I think a lot of people (including journalists, sadly) express opinions based on their preconceived notions. We are so bombarded with information that it's difficult to know all that's going on. Should we seek primary sources? Should we seek a variety of sources and hope we can sort through the dross? Certainly, we should pray for wisdom. I can't know everything about a candidate before I vote, but through prayer, consulting the wisdom of people I trust, and trying to keep up on the issue to at least a basic level, I'm usually comfortable with my choices. I really don't have time to know all that's going on before I make a choice which side to be on. Maybe at times my notions are preconceived, though I hope less and less as time goes on. Date Added: 13/12/2005
Gone Away Would that more people were so careful about their thoughts and actions, Jeff. Date Added: 13/12/2005
Victor "One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time." John F Kennedy I imagine these are the people to watch out for, as they'll have a say on just about everything they come across. Those who have opinions about their opinions are even more dangerous...look out for them! Being a naturally quiet, and somewhat shy person, unless my opinion will do more good than bad, then I will keep it to myself. Besides, the world is full of hot air already; there's no need for me to contribute anymore. ;) Vic Date Added: 14/12/2005
Victor Again, I forgot the line breaks. When will I get it through my thick skull. Date Added: 14/12/2005
QueenBitch I like to think that I ask as many questions as possible before forming an opinion for the very reasons you mentioned...but know that it doesn't always work that way. One of my personal rules, when talking on subjects that tend to bring on fierce opinion is to respect the other...something the talking heads and a good percentage of political bloggers don't do. In fact it seems like it's an unwritten code to be as rude and disrespectful as possible when talking politics etc. As far as someone not being opinionated, I'm not sure that it could be humanly possible. Even through the process of questioning and learning, aren't opinions being formed? Does the bud of a full-blown opinion count? If there were a truely unopinionated person alive, though, I would agree that they would have a rough time in this world. I would even suggest that they would be absolutely bored out of their minds, not having feelings strong enough to warrant an opinion. Date Added: 14/12/2005
Twelvebirds "As the man with a wooden leg said, it's a matter of opinion." Hehe, funny. I never thought about what my opinion on opinions is. Read any survey or opinion poll and regardless how simple and straightforward the question there will always be a percentage that have answered either "I don't know" or "No opinion" which is really the same thing. If you don't know about something, you can't have an opinion but once you are exposed to facts you should begin to arrange them and formulate some position. Hopefully, if you get more facts you will adjust and re-evaluate your position. But the most important thing to remember is that no matter what your opinion is or how strongly you voice it, there will always be a certain percentage of Americans who don't have a clue what you are talking about and couldn't care less. Polls prove it. Date Added: 14/12/2005
Gone Away I'm with you, Vic! :D Date Added: 14/12/2005
Gone Away Queen, I think we need to draw the distinction between those who appear to have no opinion because they don't say anything (usually through shyness) and those who genuinely refuse to make a stand until they know more. And when I say "opinion-less", I'm really thinking of the second group. I agree that it may be impossible to be completely without opinion, hence my wondering at how such a hypothetical person might function. But we would think them stupid, I'm sure! Date Added: 14/12/2005
Gone Away Twelve: Good to know that at least one person got the joke! ;) "If you don't know about something, you can't have an opinion". Oh yeah? Seems to me I've met plenty of people who don't let ignorance hold them back... ;) But your final paragraph is spot on - and applies anywhere in the world! Date Added: 14/12/2005
Melly Oh, I'm of the generous kind, but you probably knew that already ;) So, here, I'm about to be generous once again. Many opinions and views are not formed simply by following facts, some of them are what we might call principles or philosphies. Example: You may have numerous facts about the death penalty being or not being an effective deterrent effect, yet and even despite the facts you may believe it is wrong or right to have capital punishment. I can give you numerous other examples. As far as the opinion-less people go, I actually think people are becoming less and less opinionated, but mind you I live in Canada - PC central of the world. I mean, for goodness sake, even our politics is boring, what's to be opinionated about??? :) Date Added: 14/12/2005
Gone Away Good point, Melly, our opinions are based on more than just facts, that's true. In fact, it is our philosophy that usually decides which facts we'll use to support our opinions. But, you have politics in Canada? I thought all that went out of fashion after Mr Trudeau and his wife entertained us all those years ago... ;) Date Added: 14/12/2005
Mad Canadian politics boring?! I've been able to hear the shouting from here recently. Votes of no confidence and governments dissolving is a bit more interesting than most politics! :p Date Added: 14/12/2005
Gone Away Obviously, your hearing is better than mine, Mad. Not heard a thing about all that... Date Added: 14/12/2005
Mad I think I even heard the odd swear word... like "gosh" and "darn"... I'd better hide before Vanessa sees this. :| Date Added: 14/12/2005
Gone Away Woohoo, you're gonna catch it, Mad! :D Date Added: 14/12/2005
Mad Can't talk... hiding. Date Added: 14/12/2005
Horace Suhweeeeeet blog! Definitely worth a bookmark! If you want a really good laugh, visit www.horacefinkle.blogspot.com - People these days just don't get to laugh enough, and here's my remedy! Date Added: 15/12/2005
Gone Away Horace: One thing bloggers hate is spam and that includes unsolicited requests to view the commenter's blog. Now, I am unsure whether to place you in this category since you are so new to blogging but I should warn you that your comment looks very much like spam. There is nothing in it that shows you have read any of my posts and most of it concentrates on your own blog. If you are genuine, I would suggest that in future you you take a little time to comment on the post you've read, rather than make general comments on the whole blog that could be applied anywhere. And there is no need to add a commercial for your own blog at the end. If you filled in all of the comment fields, your blog URL will be in the header to your comment. Most bloggers will visit the blogs of their commenters out of courtesy or curiosity. :) Date Added: 15/12/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) "And, if that is so, surely the man who has no opinion at all is the wisest. ..."
The trouble with being a writer, Clive, is [Opinion Deleted]. Date Added: 15/12/2005
Gone Away LOL John, you're too wise for me! :D Date Added: 15/12/2005
Orikinla Osinachi As the man with a wooden leg said, it's a matter of opinion. .................................. In the land of the lame, the man with the wooden leg is king. Pro 11:14 Where no counsel [is], the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors [there is] safety. Pro 15:22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established. Pro 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors [there is] safety. Date Added: 16/12/2005
Mike Clive, I'm one to actually enjoy a good argument...in the intellectually charged debate sense, ego aside, personal opinion backed by fact and passion being exchanged between a number of people to hopefully change minds or present a clear point or idea. One of my favorite happenings in these tet-a-tets......when MY opinion is changed. It's how we grow, develope, and form strong opinions which we can readily stand by with confidence. I agree...too many arguments..too many people think they are right without investigation or open mind. If only.... Date Added: 16/12/2005
Gone Away All true, Orikinla, and all, interestingly enough, from Proverbs... Date Added: 16/12/2005
Gone Away In my youth, Mike, I enjoyed the cut and thrust of debate but, as I grow older, I find that I more often avoid argument, perhaps because my experience is that the more I learn, the more I know that I do not know. But I agree with you completely about the exchange of ideas being the way in which we learn and grow. Without remaining open to others' points of view, we can never find the weaknesses of our own opinions and so move forward. Date Added: 16/12/2005
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