October 25, 2014 9:25 AM

Respect: Would you be so kind as to hold my jockstrap while I stir your hot coffee?


(apologies to Jarod Kintz)

I can be hurt, she said, only by people I respect.

  • Mary Balogh, Then Comes Seduction

I’ve heard it said many a time that being American means having the right to express your opinion. Implicit with that belief seems to be the expectation that said opinions must be listened to. Frankly, nothing could be further from the truth. The mere fact of having an opinion means nothing. The right to an opinion does not ipso facto validate that opinion. Anyone with a double-digit IQ can string together a collection of random thought and call it an “opinion.” Being able to support and argue that opinion is a much higher bar…and it should be a minimum expectation for human discourse.

Part of the problem with putting opinions out into the ether is that sometimes the quality of responses leave much to be desired. I don’t expect that readers will universally agree with me. Generally speaking, I’m hoping to unearth disagreement, because I’ve always believed that civil, informed discourse is what makes us better people. Opening your mind to differing opinions isn’t a sign of weakness or moral deficiency; it’s a sign of an open mind not threatened by the idea that differing opinions may exist. Those who resorts to cheap personal insults and arguments based of fear, prejudice, and ignorance only prove themselves unworthy of respect.

Everyone has an opinion; that’s their right in a free country. That doesn’t mean that the mere existence of an opinion means it must be respected. As arrogant as this may sound, there are millions of truly stupid people who’ve formed opinions…at which point their mind slams shut to any and all other possible alternatives. An opinion isn’t something that should be locked down behind fortified steel doors once arrived at. Doing so is an indication of moral and intellectual inflexibility, the sort of thing we see daily on Fox News Channel and Right-wing Hate Radio and websites like InfoWars. It’s what leads to the fallacy that your ideas are superior and that those who think differently are “less than,” worthy only of scorn and derision. It’s what leads to treating others as less worthy of the benefits that accrue to “normal” Americans…like themselves.

I respect your right to form an opinion…but that doesn’t translate to the requirement that I respect or agree with that opinion. What I respect is intelligence and open-mindedness. We may disagree, and I’m OK with that, because I’ll respect your opinion if it’s evidence-based and well considered. What I don’t respect is an opinion arrived at and clung to because it dovetails with your preconceived notions, fears, and prejudices. I refuse to respect an opinion stubbornly clung to because someone refuses to rationally consider available facts.

Ideas aren’t the enemy; nor are facts and truth. Would that more Americans could understand that.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on October 25, 2014 9:25 AM.

More writer's humor: Never end a sentence by putting a bird on it was the previous entry in this blog.

Madeleine Albright wins the Internet!! is the next entry in this blog.

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