This 'I'm entitled to my opinion' rubbish has to stop.

[SilverDNA]

Some quotes that I believe in about opinions.

Opinions cannot survive if one has no chance to fight for them.

Thomas Mann

&

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Evelyn Beatrice Hall

Edited July 25, 2010 by SilverDNA

[grannywils]

Myrmaad and Lisnpuppy have both pretty much put forth everything I had to say on this subject. We all have opinions, and why shouldn't we. We're human. We have brains and are capable of thought. I imagine it would be fairly impossible for us not to form opinions on most anything. It is what we do with those opinions; if an how we express them, that seems to be at issue here. No one's opinion is anymore important than anyone else's. Someone stated that opinion is not fact. That is certainly true. So what? Since we are all human, each of us as valid as the next, each of us needs to remember to be respectful of one another and take heed of one another's opinions. We don't need to agree with them, and probably won't a majority of the time. Lisnpuppy, your mother hit the nail right on the head! And SilverDNA, your quote: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." has always been one of my favorites. I guess I'm not sure why our host thinks being entitled to an opinion is rubbish. Those who feel the need to rub others' noses in their opinions are just rude. Bad manners definitely need to be curtailed, but they do not have anything to do with opinions. Ok, I rest my case.

 

 

[bben46]

I always thought that quote came from Voltaire. So I looked it up and you are absolutely right. It was Evelyn Beatrice Hall who said that, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”. Ironically in a book named The Friends of Voltaire where it was mistaken for a quote when she was speaking about Voltaire and not quoting him.

[SilverDNA]

@bben46 I thought of that as well, but I double checked it with Wikipedia and then had twice a look that the German side is was not up to date with that quote. I originally believed the same as you. So I admit I've learned something too.

 

And I can go with this little quote as well...

Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.

Thomas Jefferson

[ginnyfizz]

Absolutely *bows to Silver DNA for this revelation"!

[Elsarian]

I would simply have to add what I have always believed.

 

If one has an opinion, and he/she believes in that opinion, no matter what it is about, then that opinion is right, until someone else comes along and their opinion opposes that first persons opinion. Those two people talk about there opinion and try to find which one is the true one, and when that climax is reached, then who ever is the successor in the two opinions, the looser must change his opinion to fit the first persons lest that person goes about believing something to be false. And sadly, that is the way most things are. Everything is just a constant change of opinion, one person proves the other wrong, and that person proves another wrong. So yes I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion but when it is opposed and proven false, then that opinion must change.

[VileTouch]

No, I think opinions are not a private matter. instead, i see them as an intertwining web of common knowledge. you form your opinion, based on your experience and what you think of it (provided you even think -you would be surprised of how many people just don't-) but your experience is mediatized by your environment. the experience (and therefore the opinion)of the people around you play a dicisive role on what your own opinion comes to be. It's a matter of inheritance. most people inherit not just the phisical features of their parents but also their religion, the political alignment...heck!, even the baseball team! so what you think it's your opinion is just a mixture of borrowed ideas from those that either came before you or are influencing you at the moment. but by now you're whining that you have a right to have an opinion of your own...bulls**t.... what rights? what is that?, whoever told you that people have rights?.privileges maybe. a set of temporarily lended privileges is what you have. and only for as long as you remain useful to those you serve. you ever heard your boss saying "we don't pay you have an opinion, we pay you to do as you are told!" i hate to spoil the opinions you might have, but if people really had rights, those would begin by having some food every day, by having a roof over their heads,but the fact is that if you do have a job, then you have to stuff your opinions up your darkest part in order to have at least some rights!. so you think that your opinion still matters? just check this and tell me if those that have "some" level of power (political, monetary, you name it); the ones that sell you the idea that you actually have the right to have an opinion; actually care about them?. they only care about their opinion! because "they" are the ones that have the power! and all they care about is keeping that power and expending it whenever possible, so YOU don't. what i mean with all this is that rights aren't rights if someone can take them away, and opinions are not such if you have to give up on them

 

Evelyn Hall said “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" but I think she actually meant “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to YOUR death your right to say it" so next time someone comes telling you "I have the right to have an opinion" you tell him "Oh yeah? Well I have a right to my opinion too, and my opinion is that you don't have a right to have an opinion!"

then shoot the bast*rd and and walk away!