Opinions

Something I've noticed about opinions and the manner in which they are expressed is that most people interpret disagreement as a personal attack. This is partly expressed as a stubborn unwillingness to discuss one's opinions after they are stated, illustrated by a version of "I don't want to discuss it, that just what I believe". Related to this, there is a proverb that states that there are two things that one shouldn't discuss: religion and politics. Why is that? Probably because most people either haven't really thought through why they hold their religious or political views or else they haven't seriously questioned the underlying assumptions behind those beliefs. While I'm as likely as anyone else to hold irrational, illogical and just-plain-stupid beliefs, I make an attempt to consider the other guy's opinion and, when necessary, learn from it and modify my own stance. I'm also likely, when somebody says that they disagree with me, or that I'm wrong, to ask that person why, to explain why they think that my position is incorrect. Now I will get a little miffed if the way that disagreement is expressed is with a statement in the vein of "that's stupid" or "that doesn't make any sense". The first is a judgement without any stated basis and the second is just a poorly worded admission of lack of understanding. I'm all for politeness when it comes to disagreement.

Maybe the new technology of social media has made the sensitivity to disagreement more prevalent. After all, blogs and "places" like Facebook have made it easier to make anonymous pronouncements with little danger that someone you offend is close enough to beat you up! But think about the difference between people interacting remotely through their computers in cyberspace and those same people sitting around a table sharing some beers or coffee. Let's say Jack, out of nowhere, proclaims: "Obama is a gay socialist Kenyan Muslim who wants to set up death panels to kill our old people". His buddy Skip, a devoted Democrat, is probably not going to ignore this, but respond with some kind of rebuttal, or at least roll his eyes and tell Jack to shut up. In contrast, written statements like this generally just attract posts agreeing with the initial statement; opposing views are deleted.

That's my view anyway. Feel free to disagree!