However, there are those people who feel the need to follow the declaration by offering their opinions on politics. Then, they claim their opinions on politics are valid.
What do they mean when they aren't interested in politics, but they think their opinions on political matters are valid? That is like saying they aren't interested in cooking, but they have opinions on how we can improve our recipes. How would they know if they don't know our recipes? They can't know. They can't support the reasons for the improvements if they don't know what already goes into it.
The same goes with politics. If someone doesn't want to know what went into the political discussions, how can they possibly offer anything of value to improve it? They can't. They shouldn't. If it's you who does it, don't.
It is okay to have a different opinion. It is okay to not want that opinion changed if facts come to light that invalidate the opinion. There is nothing anyone can do about that.
However, once you open your mouth to offer your opinion, you need to support it with more than your opinion is valid because you have it. That doesn't validate your opinion. That validates your prejudice.
There are some people who actually do have opinions they might be able to support, but they don't offer their actual opinions to keep peace in their homes. If the end of a peaceful home requires the means of not stating your honest opinion, you really need to consider which is more important to you, because you can't do both. Either state your opinion honestly, or keep yourself shut up.
I would actually suggest that you open up to a therapist if keeping a peaceful home requires you to not be you. However, that does not mean I owe it to you to accept the uninformed and unsupported opinion you offer because that is what keeps it peaceful at home. If you offer your opinion, you should expect that others may want to discuss it.
That is how public discourse has long been. Public discourse is a lost art.
It can be debated that the reason is the revocation of the Fairness Doctrine, that we don't teach civics and history in schools, or that the anonymity of the internet emboldens people who would otherwise fear being punched in the nose. Other factors might be tossed out for the reasoning, and some of those other reasons might bring light to the discussion. However, if the contribution you offer is an easily disprovable prejudice that you are holding onto because it reminds you of your father who was a good man and is dead, then it cannot add light.
If you are determined to hold onto your prejudice, then you should not proudly wave it. After all, the main ingredient in the recipe for prejudice is ignorance. Ignorance is not the same as stupidity, although they tend to go hand-in-hand. Stupidity may include an inability to learn; ignorance is not learning. See? They are not the same things, but they will often go hand-in-hand.
In other words, if I say 'you're being ignorant,' it is incorrect to think I called you 'stupid.' Even if you say that I think you're stupid for your opinion, it isn't because I said it. It's just a lucky guess, at best. However, it could be that you would be incorrect, and that I think you are smart and acting ignorant. Those are all possibilities, and 'you are being ignorant' does not put the '0' in the equation for any of those possibilities.
If you don't understand what I just said, that's okay. However, please do not offer your opinion on properly using binary if you think binary should be used to limit options instead of eliminating possibilities. I have no problem with learning from people, but you must offer some light with value if you expect me to consider your opinion seriously enough to learn from it.
The same goes with politics. If your mind is made up on your candidate, that is fine. If you like that candidate because it keeps peace in the home, that, too, is fine. If after offering your opinion you declare that you are tired of discussing it, then lose the opinion, too. Adding your prejudice to a discussion, and then claiming it is an opinion that you are tired of discussing, is both ignorant and stupid.
If we don't like the same candidates, we can talk about it. I stay informed about who is doing what, but that doesn't mean that I have all the information. Sometimes light is cast upon something I was looking at differently, and it becomes more clear. However, if you want to offer an opinion on something that is being discussed, and you don't want to support it or have it replied to, lose the opinion.
Otherwise, you and your opinion are game for discussion. It's really not that difficult of a concept to understand.
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Other posts you may enjoy:
Welcome to My Nightmare
Is Not Caring Anymore a Mental Health Issue?
Inner Struggles
Three Songs About Richard Nixon
Farley's Wit: The Story
The King Who Was President and Other Presidential Tidbits
