Many of us cling to our opinions as if they were the verses of a sacred text, and most often, we push away other's opinions as if they made up a jumbled book of nonsense where interpretation is hopeless. Simply put, I have nothing to gain from you and you have everything to gain from me.
I've spent most of my life listening and not speaking. I don't lack the necessary social skills to carry on a conversation, in fact, I love talking to other people, and with the proper amount of social lubricant, my opinions will flood as freely as they do for others.
But I've grown tired of the common methods of conversation. There's too much give and not enough take, many are too focused on thinking of their next retort when they should be listening to what others around them have to say. This is why the starting point of the conversation is regularly miles away from the topic you land on at the end.
To make things more difficult, online communication has given us access to a courage to say anything, regardless of intention to offend or potential to be misinterpreted. Instead of careful communication, it's often quick, reactionary, and fuels a fire that burns without shared benefit.
What often spurs the fury of ineffective discourse is simply an opinion written by someone who believes others might agree with them. These pieces should be (but often are not) carefully crafted so the reader can understand why the writer believes what they do. I don't want to know just what you think about the topic, I want to know why you think that way. I will understand who you are as a person better, I'll understand my own beliefs better, and this added perspective will strengthen my opinions.
Does an opinion need an explanation? It does if it is being shared. There would be no point to sharing an opinion without explaining it. Saying, "That's just my opinion" ends the conversation. It sometimes means that the person isn't open to changing their opinions; what a boring conversation that can be.
Opinion pieces can become weak when they contain the following:
-Generalized statements of truth
-Easily misinterpreted words or statements
-Sensational and provocative statements
-Use of experience as evidence of truth
-Contradictory ideas
-Lack of explanation
I believe opinion pieces need to be scoured for these elements. A great shared opinion should be internally debated at length so it can be written in a way that readers can't disagree without being petty or irrational.
I'm not blaming the world and saying things like this is "the death of communication" or "the end of rationality" just like I don't believe Millenials are lazy or doomed. I'm slowly discovering that for me to be a better person and writer I have to expand my perspectives and fight my ego. I need stronger empathy and a bigger capacity to understand the variety of the world.
Because the more I live my life, the more I wonder why I am living it...And for the sake of a better future, I hope we all do that at some point in our lives.
