Jen's Journal

“Let me warn you, you who are thirsty for knowledge, against the thicket of opinions and the conflict of words. Opinions mean nothing; they may be beautiful or ugly, clever or foolish, anyone can embrace or reject them.” -Hermann Hesse

Opinions do not mean anything in the sense that there is more emotion than logic to them. This is not to say that opinions are not important. People live their lives based on opinion. What I think Hermann means is that we should not take opinions so seriously.  

I think now more than ever this is important to understand because of how many people are offended by the opinions of others, and how many people argue because of the opinions of others.

The literal definition of opinion is “a belief or conclusion held with confidence but not sustained by positive knowledge or proof.” I bring this up to emphasize that opinions are personal beliefs NOT based on evidence.

I write about this today because of how many people get offended by different opinions. Every person has a different upbringing, different experiences, different psychology than others. So why is it so hard to believe they also have different opinions?

Every time I open social media there are arguments usually about shaming people for their beliefs. I think it is pointless to waste energy on these things. Up until now, I have been very vague about beliefs, so I will write about controversial beliefs that result in arguments.

I believe that people have the right to be sexually attracted to whomever; that there is no “correct” religion and people should have the choice to be religious or not; that it is detrimental for our country to keep two parties in power; that a woman can do whatever she chooses with her body, but the father should also have an opinion about it.

It is okay if no one agrees with my beliefs because they are mine, and simply having them will not harm people. Something I have learned as an adult is also that it is okay to be friends with people who do not share your views. That is what being an adult is. Leave the arguing and fighting for young people. Eventually, they will learn that there are things not worth wasting time and energy on.