My Opinion of Your Opinion

I love opinions. Opinions are a fundamental pillar of humanity. If we didn’t have opinions we’d more closely resemble bees. Most people don’t think alike and that’s a good thing, it allows more nuance and complexity when talking about a subject. However, there are multiple ways people can have, what I consider to be, a bad opinion.

The first type of bad opinions are the ones that aren’t opinions. People can claim “In my opinion!” all they want, what they’re saying is objectively false. For instance, I can say “The sky is blue.” and they would interject with “Well I think the sky is red.” This is a bad opinion because it isn’t even an opinion, it’s just actually wrong.

The second type of bad opinions are propaganda opinions. These opinions come from people who simply repeat the opinions of their favorite idols, even if it contradicts what they actually think. For example, my friend watches Harry Potter and has said they’re meant to be in Ravenclaw. About a week ago I saw them wearing a Hufflepuff scarf, even though they have said in the past they genuinely hate Hufflepuff because they’re basic and boring. I asked them why and they said it’s because their favorite podcaster has recently started talking about how much they love Hufflepuff. They still hate Hufflepuff.

The third type of bad opinions are hypocritical opinions. This is when someone has two different opinions that contradict each other. I knew someone who said they loved fishing alone because of how quiet and serene the lake was, and in the same breath asked me if I wanted to go fishing with them. I asked them why, and they told me they needed a fishing buddy to not get bored out of their mind. A more extreme example is someone I went to choir with in high school. They’re a protestant, but believed the earth was only around 400 years old and every year before that was made up by atheists and government officials to try and prove that evolution is real.

In my opinion though, your opinion matters. The reason bad opinions exist is because you don’t know if your opinion is good or not, and everything isn’t cut and dry. With time opinions can change. Even if you’re scared you will be scrutinized for an opinion you have, your voice deserves to be heard, so don’t be hesitant to throw your opinion out there.