Opinions. People have them on just about any subject that comes up. Some people are very firm with their opinions and others seem to float in and out of various options. Some people make a living sharing their opinions. Many of today’s cable television most-watched programs are led by talking heads who do little more than share their opinions. This is America, so sharing one’s opinion is a freedom we enjoy; there are, however, a few courtesy-based guidelines that should be adhered to when opinions are being debated.
Webster defines an opinion as what one thinks true. Notice it doesn’t read what one assumes to be true, or hopes to be true. One’s opinion is a personally held belief that is held to be true by that individual; thus, differing opinions on the same subject can be true. Obviously every opinion is not true in actual fact, making this a case of relative truth. Say a person believes the Bible to be totally without error and another person believes the Bible is God’s infallible word; but, due to countless translations from one language to another, holds a few errors in date, time, and place. Who’s right? They can’t both be correct as an error is an error no matter who’s defining the word. In the sphere of relative truth they can both be right as it’s a personal matter of belief. The same goes for politics and other oft-volatile subjects. One opinion is as true as another if it’s held by someone.
The takeaway is simply this: opinions are plentiful; but never forget that behind every opinion is a person. If and when we engage in opinion-based discussion we need to separate the opinion from the person holding the opinion. If we don’t hold the person in proper esteem we will convolute the person and their opinion, and the end result is often bad relationships, if not hate. Another word for this is fundamentalism. Fundamentalists see themselves as being the holder of actual truth and as such if you disagree with them you are automatically wrong. Fundamentalists exist in every field and tend to do more damage than good in the long run. Fundamentalists do not encourage discussion and the sharing of ideas. Some fundamentalists even go as far as disallowing discussion, seeing it as unnecessary since they have the answer already in hand. I’m guessing we would not have made it to the moon if this form of leadership had been in place: Forget the Jetsons and Star Trek! Rockets can’t make it to the Moon! This meeting’s over!
This is an equation that works: Mix opinions and respect, and the outcome will be an excellent discussion and sharing of ideas among equals. If you run into a fundamentalist say you have two words for them: George Jetson! Works every time, but that’s just my opinion of course.
Michael McCullar
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