I am writing in response to an article published in last Friday’s paper titled, “Sharing personal opinions on social media creates tension,” which stated, “No matter your opinion, you are the only one who cares.” Keep in mind readers, this article was published in the opinion section.
As an opinion writer and debate enthusiast, I question the validity of this writer’s column. I believe voicing opinion is essential and ultimately beneficial to societies and democracy as a whole. Of course, not everyone shares the same views. If we did, our communities would probably not function correctly, not to mention we’d all be absolutely boring.
The writer said as humans we disregard other opinions, and once we have settled on a view, it is almost impossible to change. At this point, I almost laugh, because I know how entirely inaccurate that is.
Americans as a whole are proof against this claim, considering how far we have come in altering our views for the better. This can be seen in the change in attitudes towards racial minorities, women and most recently, gays and lesbians. We continue progressing through the change in our opinions.
My own views have changed as I have grown older and become more educated. Without hearing the ideas of the people who have surrounded me as I’ve aged, I cannot say I would have formulated the same opinions that do so much to define my character today.
And this does not mean I have regurgitated the words of others as my own as the writer seems to suggest some do when she says, “Sadly, some are more easily swayed than others.” By hearing the opinions of others, I gain perspective and knowledge, which only allows me to formulate more accurate views than my previous.
The writer seems to be under the impression that the purpose of formulating opinions is to prove them right as the only inherent truths. She writes, “If I can’t validate why my opinion is finer, what is the point of entertaining such ideas?”
The point of entertaining such ideas is this: by sharing, even challenging your views with others and listening to others’ in return, you become more open-minded to alternative perspectives. If repeated often, you become accepting of all individuals and their differences.
Competing with ideas is not a “fight” for superiority; it is a promotion for diversity, understanding and open-mindedness.
It is only when one side completely shuts down the other, which the writer does address, when this kind of debating fails. The solution to this, however, is not to keep quiet.
The writer suggests, “By all means, if you are genuinely interested, you should ask your friends their thoughts on a subject.”
We should not limit ourselves to the opinions of our friends, who are the people most likely to share our views, offering no competition. And how should we know what to ask anyhow?
There are issues I never knew could be looked at in a different way until someone demonstrated so by voicing his or her opinion.
The greatest knowledge we can gain does not come from asking but from listening to individuals who inadvertently answer questions we could have never known to ask.
By relying only on our own curiosity, we fall to the ignorance of those who the writer addressed at the end of her article. “All humans (do not) have the ability to deal with differing opinions.”
Well, all that I have to say is those people are oblivious and will never fully grasp diversity or what it means to be accepting. The apathy of those people willing to stagnate society is destructive and, frankly, I will not cater to them by keeping my opinions unvoiced.