The more political issues our country faces, the more opinions people form. Every time these opinions form, someone posts them on a social media site with little or no regard for anyone else’s outlook. No matter your opinion, you are the only one who cares. And honestly, that’s the way it should be. Your opinion should be just that: your own.
Although there is nothing wrong with asking the opinions of others, you as a human being are responsible for your own opinion. I wish I could accurately describe how many times a day I scroll right past someone’s opinionated post on any sort of social media.
Go ahead. Admit it. You do it, too. Why? Because you don’t care. You shouldn’t care, either. One of the beautiful things about the human mind is its ability to form opinions.
In addition to forming opinions, the human mind is capable of disregarding other options. Once your mind has settled on a view, it is almost impossible to change it. Even logical reasoning is no match for a person set in his or her ways.
This isn’t my way of telling you to completely disregard anyone else’s views or thoughts. By all means, if you are genuinely interested, you should ask your friends their thoughts on a subject.
Their answers could easily shock you, or even influence your own thoughts. In fact, I encourage everyone to partake in such discussions. Although, asking such questions should involve a certain form of open-mindedness.
Being open-minded is required in these situations simply because opinions are not a matter of right and wrong. In fact, the majority of opinions aren’t even justified. I’m no statistician, but I would caution to say almost everyone’s opinions are formed based on the beliefs with which they were raised.
I have often found myself in disagreement with the opinions of others at all. In keeping an open mind, you can have these conversations with little disagreement. That’s only because I don’t see my opinion as the “correct” one. There is absolutely no way to verify that my opinion is superior to anyone else’s. If I can’t validate why my opinion is finer, what is the point of even entertaining such ideas?
Prying into someone else’s beliefs requires a certain tactfulness that is not always easy to exude. Differing opinions is no reason to endanger any sort of relationship. That being said, you can state you disagree without completely shutting down the other side of the discussion. Telling someone his or her opinion is wrong is never a smart idea.
Keep in mind even though you are asking for someone else’s opinion, he or she may not be asking for yours.
Again: no one cares. I could easily sit down with (just about) anyone, discuss ideas and not be affected by his or her views in the slightest. Sadly, some are more easily swayed than others. In that case, I suggest you pick a topic in which your beliefs are firm if you wish to partake in such conversations.
Just because the human mind has the ability to form opinions, does not mean that all human minds have the ability to deal with differing opinions.
Unfortunately, this is the case encountered most often on social media. Without caution, a simple Facebook post stating or supporting your views can easily be construed as offensive to anyone of the opposing or neutral view.
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Sharing personal opinions on social media creates tension
Claire Wilson
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April 3, 2013
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