An Opinion on Opinions
We’ve all got them. The most recognizable music, television, books, movies, and fashion are determined by popular ones. And some say they…
We’ve all got them. The most recognizable music, television, books, movies, and fashion are determined by popular ones. And some say they are like assholes because everyone has them. Opinions are a staple of who we are and how we see ourselves. We construct our lives around our own opinions and, although we don’t always like to admit it, the opinions of others.
There’s a benefit to forming opinions. It allows us to streamline our lives. If we decide that we really only like comedy films, it’s a lot easier to pick what flick you want to watch. But opinions can put us into a corner. Our opinions can be regurgitated to us by others; making us feel warm and fuzzy. The safety of numbers puts people in a daze. And when enough people start ignoring opposing opinions, divisiveness ensues.
Because opinions are not rooted in scientifically backed facts, building your foundation of self-worth on these shaky grounds is a dangerous game. When our foundation starts to wobble we fortify with patchwork solutions instead of tear down and repair. Standing our ground no matter how many people we lose in the process.
My opinion on opinions is that they should act like the weather. The weather can be strong or weak. Sometimes lasts a long time or is a short blip on the radar. But the most important reason opinions should be like the weather is that it changes.
Changing opinions have a bad reputation. In the political sphere we call it flip-flopping and we see it as weak. We really need to change our opinion on the subject because learning, growing, and changing what you believe in is a sign of a self-aware, intelligent being. The problem with changing opinions seems to come from fear that people don’t have a backbone. And there is some merit to that. It’s not useful to change your opinion constantly. You have to have form your ideas and attempt to stick to them in order to get things done. But you need to open to others.
If you are really listening to what’s happening in the world, it becomes easier to identify if an opinion is changing because it will get someone ahead versus changing because the world is changing. The former is something to watch out for, but the latter can bring everyone to a higher level of understanding and compassion.
That’s my opinion on opinions. Care to share yours?