In having any type of debate with another person, there are many reflexive responses that are identifiable fallacies that would never pass muster in even a Freshman-level debate club. People often turn to specious reasoning and personal attacks and diversions from the real subject when in the midst of confrontation. However, in my personal experience, if I’ve seen any particular Red Herring as being virtually ubiquitous, it’s the “You’re Opinionated” statement that is meant to reflect that the opponent is boorish, rude, over-the-top, and arrogant—or compares one to another that it is assumed embodies such qualities, such as “You’re just like that jerk on the radio!”

In the end, can any statement possibly be as meaningless and useless as an opinion that is proffered to indicate the inherent offensiveness of proffering opinions?

Yet this is fairly commonplace. There are 1000 word screeds in newspapers angrily lambasting the “anger” of talk radio. There are churches decrying the persecution of their beliefs while expressing intolerance of other beliefs. There are Presidents who denounce one cable network for “bias” while enjoying the leg-tingling support of other networks. There are children denounced as “opinionated” for defending the values learned at home against the propaganda of the state.

There are some who would say society has become courser, ruder, and angrier. Yet, studying the words and writings and conflicts of history would seem to indicate that such is NOT the case. After all, yelling “You Lie!” in a joint session of congress may not seem the most erudite response, but neither was it a challenge to a pistol duel. Conflict is constant, as are the expressions of views on any particular conflict. This isn’t new. But perhaps what is new is the warm, comfortable bubble of one’s own viewpoints, where we feel safely ensconced not by facts and righteousness, but by perceptions and self-righteousness. The touchy-feeliness of the “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” generation mutated into the “I’m Okay, You’re a Jackass” generation, wherein children congratulated for every personal insight, no matter how insignificant, grew into adults believing each personal musing to be profound and any question against, heresy.

Of course, that would only be my opinion. But this is fact: It doesn’t matter if society has become more uncivilized, or if we merely perceive it so because it violates our comfort with presumptions that have become doctrine. The only variable in the equation that we control is ourselves. If there is to be a change in the outlook of how we engage each other, it must be rooted in our own hearts. Opinion isn’t a problem as long as we recognize our own for what they are… just opinions. Yes, some opinions are of weightier matters than others and some are more backed by facts than others. So that should become our focus—the weight of the facts, not the presentation of opinion.

Jared A. Chambers