Have you noticed how we are all full of opinions and need to express them more each day? Some people consider it so important that they have found a flag to wrap their behavior in. They call it Freedom of Speech, and many are ready to die for this obvious distortion of an essential topic.
People are now positive that they have the right to defend their beliefs freely. The others must accept and live with my opinions—no matter how uncivil. I know it hurts to have second thoughts while you’re holding a banner. It makes people feel like traitors. But if you are looking for a second opinion on an opinion, let’s dive to try to understand and maybe fight this.
A Society of Loud Estimators
Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries define opinions as “thoughts or beliefs about something or someone. Something not necessarily based on fact or knowledge is also called an appraisal, an estimation, or a valuation.”
Maybe it all started a decade ago with Facebook’s “What’s on your mind” message, inviting us to vent into social media. After resonating across platforms, this concept led to a new demand: the right to express opinions freely, without fear of retribution.
And it changed our lives, our kids’ dreams, and the future. We are not happy creating, performing, consuming, or existing anymore. We need to express and maybe show off our personalities—as everybody needs, after all, to be approved and applauded.
Why Do We Do it: a theory
Humankind has always fought death by using gimmicks to pursue immortality. In Antiquity, folks imagined that dying gloriously in battle would assure them eternal life. Today, people record videos, take pictures, and write books to keep their memories alive after they are gone.
I connect the need to offer opinions on everything to that same aspiration. Like in broadcasting, as the act of spreading seeds, people feel they are disseminating themselves through life so they won’t pass.
Yet, although seemingly gentle, the intention behind unsolicited opinions is not just selfish but entirely self-centered. They serve only the speaker, much less the listener.
Noble Purposes, Harmful Bids
I was motivated to write about it when I read about a particular case. The story of an Italian restaurateur who put an end to her life after being hit by an online shitstorm. She became famous after replying honorably to a customer’s review that complained about the presence of gay and disabled people. Later, people discovered she had faked the discussion to promote her small business. And the s* hit the fan when the online judgment came out of control.
“She did wrong,” you’d said, just as the majority of the innocent users who flooded her life with moral discourses. As opinions play a significant role in modern life, people can relegated enough to conclude they are unworthy of existing. Similarly, during a fiery hearing in the US Senate, Zuckerberg apologized to families, admitting Facebook and Instagram harmed their children.
We, the people, discovered that social media amplifies discourses, but we still miss the debate on the destructiveness opinions.
So, What’s My Take?
You are not compelled to form any opinion about this matter before you, nor to disturb your peace of mind at all. Things in themselves have no power to extort a verdict from you.
Marcus Aurelius
I have no strong opinions in life. And every time I try to prove this wrong, I only prove it right. Education reshapes beliefs. Instruction revolutionizes judgment. And once you internalize that, you feel no longer seduced by it.
I don’t call it hesitation. I just don’t cuddle my beliefs because I’m sure they will shortly improve. The current me is constantly trying to live his days so that he won’t shame the future me.
Many people will never change, so they will never be called indecisive, but I am done with that. I am taking a strong opinion on strong opinions, and I want the world to know it.
