Mrs. Slocombe is probably my favorite character in the British comedy, "Are You Being Served?" She would sometimes say that some thing was her opinion and that she was unanimous in that.
Many of us feel pretty unanimous about our opinions.
The word comes flows from Latin along a meandering path beginning with "opinari" which means "think, judge, suppose, and opine."
I have some opinions. Don't you? Sometimes I like being asked my opinion. Sometimes I do not. Sometimes, I suspect a set-up or a prelude to an argument. Other times, I fear a rift in the making if my opinion offends someone. Other times, I think it might just be too much work to explain it and I do not want to defend it.
Then, there are moments when I feel honored to be asked and other moments when I feel conscience bound to lend my perspective so that others might weigh it in as they formulate their own views.
It is a predicament.
At any rate, there are opinions and there are statements of fact. Opinions may be right, wrong, or, frequently, neither right nor wrong.
Facts can be right, wrong, distorted, out-of-context, misrepresented, unverified, untested, partly right, partly wrong, and misleading.
I am more inclined to dispute or defend facts.
I am less inclined to challenge, dispute, or defend opinions.
I might state an opinion, let you state yours, and say no more. I may not respond to challenges to my opinion if I feel that my responsibility was fulfilled in stating it. In the same way, my silence when you state your opinion should not be construed as agreement. I may just be letting you have your say while I have nothing more to say on the matter.
I might also do the same with statements of fact. But I may also respect and investigate challenges to my "fact" or "information-only" statements I might challenge others or ask for sources, or do my own research.
Context of the statement might also matter. Is it my platform where these things are being stated or yours? I really have no responsibility for what you do on your platform. I do for mine. I do for what I say and for what I allow to go unchallenged.
A beginning step toward helpful dialogue would be to distinguish between opinion and fact.
Opinions often begin with words such as. "I believe," "I feel," "In my opinion," "It is my assumption/conviction/bias/view that," or "The way that I see it."
Who can argue with that? It is a statement of fact that you believe that, not whether it is ultimate truth. It adds to the discussion a disclosure of your presuppositions and I can respect that you know what they are.
Of course, there is a long process of arriving at an opinion and your should be able to track yours and know what core beliefs your opinions are built upon. That is another set of legitimate questions. If an opinion is based upon false "facts," it i subject to rethinking ... but you have to think for yourself.
So, this is a position paper on part of my operating process for social discourse in social media and other stages of public and private dialogue. Silence does not mean agreement, lack of conviction, or defeat. Stating an opinion does not mean I must be right. Stating facts as facts requires documentation and invites challenge.
At least, that is how I see it.
And furthermore, these are times when the distinction can be a matter of life and death.
