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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.
popular opinion
opinion essay
in my humble opinion
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It just happens that in the high school writing class I teach, we start out with writing opinion essays, and that's the assignment the students are working on this week. We talked about being able to explain our opinion on a topic while being respectful of other viewpoints, and boy, is that respect lacking in the world today!
There are a few commonly used phrases or social media acronyms that we often joke about as being signals that the speaker or writer is about to do the exact opposite. Like if something "goes without saying" then why did you feel the need to say it? "IMHO" or "in my humble opinion" is one of those. Too often when we add IMHO to something we're posting, we're really signalling that we think our position is the only valid one and trying to soften the delivery. Oops. Not cool. If we have to declare our opinion as a humble one, chances are we're not actually humble about it at all.
Most of us have at least a few things that we have strong opinions on, and while some of them are personal preference things like foods we like and dislike, usually our strongest opinions are based in deeply held personal convictions about issues that have moral and ethical implications for us. I believe strong opinions are fine and often good! I certainly have some very strong opinions myself! But we all need to be careful to respect other viewpoints, even those that we are convinced are wrong. We all need to be careful that our opinions on right and wrong, good and evil, are based on God's Word. And even that our opinions on how to live godly lives are not in contradiction to God's Word.
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
~Proverbs 18:2~
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
~II Corinthians 10:5~
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Yeah, I am not humble,
ReplyDeleteand yeah, I do say what I think.
Don't agree? Let's rumble,
and I will buy you a drink
when you see the error
of your misbegotten ways.
Do not shrink in terror,
for I am in a beery haze
that recognizes enemies
as my misguided kin,
and though I will not offer praise
it's a place where we begin
to gain a second and true sight
that you know that I am always right.
I pretty much say what I think, and I'm pretty much always right too. I wonder how much we'd agree on if we could sit down over a drink? I think we'd have a great visit and agree on all the important things! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI often think that with Andrew too Kym! :) I hate that "IMHO" that people use online...it's like "don't argue with me because I know I'm right". I'd rather that "my experiences with xyz have led me to believe abc" as it allows room to offer divergent experiences to expand thinking. FMF14
ReplyDelete"IMHO" is one shorthand that I try not to use unless it's obvious that I'm being sarcastic! Because to me it always says that the person is not in the least bit humble, they are just using that as a "get out of jail free card" to say something judgmental. Ah, social media. What would we do without it. LOL Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteIt sounds like you are having fun with your students this week, Kym.
ReplyDeleteIt's a class I really enjoy teaching! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteKym, the points on humility brought to mind something I read years ago and I don't remember where I read it. But the gist was that the minute you write or speak about how humble you are, you are no longer humble. May we always be respectful to others as we share opinions, or we may not get another opportunity to share.
ReplyDeleteI've heard something similar. Yes, respect and genuine humility will go a long way in giving us opportunities to share and to be heard. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteKym, this is great. You've got some very wise words here. And I like Joanne's comment too.
ReplyDeleteFMF #2
Thank you - words I need to learn from myself! Glad you stopped by!
DeleteLove this post Kym.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great class..