Opinions are funny things. Have too many, you irritate people; too few, and somehow you become a non-entity; feel too strongly about them and you risk being labeled a bitch/overbearing, abrasive, etc. etc.
I have a lot of opinions on a lot of things. If I don't have an opinion on something, I'll tell you just that - and let you know that I'll look into whatever the subject is and see if I can form an opinion.
Some opinions are snap: I don't want to eat octopus. I haven't tried it. I haven't researched the pros and cons about eating octopus. I just don't want to eat it. 'nuff said.
I didn't have an opinion on the flat tax until I had to research it for an English paper. Boy did that open my eyes and show me how unfair that system could be!
The trickiest opinions are those deemed "personal" - political alignment, religion, drugs, relationships, how you raise your kids...
I have a LOT of opinions on those fronts. But, they are just my opinions. I recognize that others do not always share my opinions, and I'm really OK with that. Don't take my militant attitude about my own opinions for intolerance of other people's opinions. I really don't care if someone has opinions that oppose my own as long as their opposition does not suppress my opinion (and how I act on them) or hurt those I care about.
I love that the people I know do not think the same way I do. See the comments on my previous post. Fuck Life states that he doesn't agree with some of my opinions. But we don't need to argue about it because it's ok that we don't agree - that's what keeps things interesting.
A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), I wasn't so tolerant. I let my opinion get the better of me. After all, if it was my opinion, it must be the best! ha! Ah, youth! Oscar Wilde said (this may be a paraphrase), "I'm not young enough to know everything." What a smart man! Opinions are not the final form of a thought - it's the form of the thought at that very moment and based on information which is only as good and current as the last source utilized.
I don't know everything. My opinions change as my knowledge and situation changes. Some opinions remain firm: I still don't like liars; I don't want to be around drug users; I still don't want to be around people who use others; I still won't eat octopus. But where once I would have crapped all over those who fill those categories, now I can tolerate them, even if I don't really care for them. I still don't want to be exposed to those things that I don't like, so I limit my exposure to that person. I try to not completely shun that person (as I've done before). However, I WILL shun someone who is a destructive force.
This is an on-going process. Tomorrow, maybe my opinion on what I wrote will change. That's the beauty of it.
"I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them." - George Bush.
teehehehe!
