Opinionated

Since when is having an opinion something remarkable? It's a sad lookout for the world at large if opinionated is either a compliment or an insult. Shouldn't everyone be opinionated?

I know what people mean when they use the word. They mean outspoken in one's opinions. And I understand that some people feel that one's personal views should be kept quiet. I won't complain if no one ever gives me a personal view again, frankly, because I can see the upside to everyone keeping to themselves. Opinions too often are confused with statements of fact, and on that score, neither a borrower nor a lender be.

There is a proud tradition in journalism, the Op-Ed piece, and the Op part stands for Opinion. Editors write editorials filled with their own personal views. Why do we read them? Why do they write them? Simply because they are illustrative in many ways.

For one, it's useful to know what the editor of a newspaper or magazine thinks on various subjects because they have a great deal of control over how those subjects are portrayed within the pages of their publication. If an editor takes a consistently anti-Semitic stance in his or her editorials, then any stories about Jews within the publication should be examined fairly closely. If the editor has obvious Communist leanings, labor relations stories are bound to show that bias. So learning the editor's point of view can help the reader see that point of view within the publication.

Secondly, editorials and other pieces of opinion serve to inform the reader's opinions. I'm not saying that opinion should be confused with fact for this purpose, but learning what someone else thinks on a subject is never completely without use, even if you totally disagree. This is, of course, provided that you can see in your own views any possibility of change; if your views are set in stone, hearing any arguments to the contrary would be useless. Sadly, all too many of us suffer from this problem at one time or another.

Thirdly, editorials provide a synthesis of the facts laid out in the news. It is for this same reason that we pay any attention to pundits and analysts. Editors of news publications are assumed to be slightly better informed about the world situation than the general public. This is a lofty ideal but seldom works out well in the real world, and we listen to analysts far too much and the actual facts far too little.

So there can be a use in sharing opinions, and not just in newspapers. As for me, I don't call this blog "Nobody Cares About the Facts" for a reason. They are my views, and I guess that makes me opinionated. It's a badge I will wear, if not proudly, at least openly. Why be ashamed of opinions? We all ought to have a few of them at least.