By: Maddie Schmidt
The other day while sitting in class, I faced a situation that I believe many of us meet every day as college students. The professor mentioned an event that sparked political controversy and asked us to share our opinion on the event with the class. I sat there for a few seconds, thinking about how I would respond if I were called on. I had not heard about the event previously, so I hesitated. I felt that I didn’t know enough about the topic, and I was nervous that by sharing my opinion I would expose myself as “uneducated” in the discussion. I held back from commenting, even though my own opinion was taking shape.
This led me to wonder, “Is there such thing as a wrong opinion?” It certainly feels like it sometimes. I held back from speaking in class, fearful that my peers would deem my opinion as “incorrect” or lacking in some way. When I feel like I don’t know the whole picture or a topic is new to me, I hesitate to share my views.
And to some extent, this should be the case. It seems unproductive to make grand, opinionated statements when we have not learned all the nuances and facts of the topic at hand. It also seems foolish to root ourselves in an opinion without giving it intentional thought and looking at the conversation from every possible angle.
On the other hand, how will any discussion happen if we wait until we know everything there is to know about a given topic or event before we take part in the conversation?
The great thing about opinions is that they are flexible. They can change and morph as we ingest new information. The danger is when we are unwilling to let our opinions change and grow. This is not to imply that our opinions should give way easily, but that we should be willing to stretch our minds to think critically about why our opinions take the shape that they do. When we don’t offer them room to stretch, our opinions turn rigid with stubbornness, and we risk becoming an ideologue.
An ideologue is a “proponent or adherent of a political, economic or other ideology, especially one who is uncompromising or dogmatic,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Simply put, an ideologue is someone who will not change their opinion, no matter what evidence you produce. Critical thinking goes out the window. Now, most of us have at least one stance that we are unwilling (or at least very resistant) to challenge, but we must be self-aware about our ability or inability to stretch our opinions.
But are any opinions wrong? Since it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between opinion and fact, many people make the mistake of using them interchangeably. If I were to say that I believe all dogs to be vicious, that opinion would be easily debunked. It is not a wrong opinion; it is an unsubstantiated fact that I presented as an opinion. But if I have never met a dog that is not vicious, saying that I think all dogs are dangerous is an opinion. Even if I had come across a dog that was not vicious, I might still have perceived it as a threat. And no one would be able to argue with me. Someone could argue that nice dogs exist, but no one could combat the idea that I believe dogs to be dangerous. Now, this is only a hypothetical situation; I love dogs in real life.
So, I have come to the conclusion that wrong opinions do not exist, but that unsubstantiated facts presented or perceived as opinions do exist. And this is why it is important to ingest nuance and detail before spitting out what we believe to be our own opinion. We might accidentally present an unsupported fact instead. Even still, this should not hold us back from taking part in group discussions. It merely motivates us to really think about what we say before letting our mouths run away from us.
There is beauty in realizing our mistakes and letting our opinions change as we take in more of the world around us. The fact that we can grow and transform through conversation and debate is what makes humanity so interesting. We should strive both to form solid opinions and to adjust our mindset. If we allow ourselves flexibility in our thinking, then the idea of changing our minds does not seem so scary.
