About a opinion and what it asks of the holder and those who listen to him or her

 

Repeating things over and over again that were utter nonsense worked for the Nazis. People started to believe the rubbish about the Jews. Another thing that happens with that is that the more people hear a nonsense opinion they think it’s a valid opinion even if wrong. That is just as dangerous. A lot of bystanders while the Nazis butchered thought that way.  Opinions then are dangerous.  People should ask questions instead of presuming anybody should want to hear their opinion.

 

Opinions are conclusions thought out at least a tiny bit but open to dispute. They need not be necessarily thought out carefully or well. The fact that an opinion is open to dispute means you ask for it to be examined by others to see if it is as reasonable or correct as you think. That is the case whether you like it to be examined or not. So if you say something is your opinion you are inviting debate.

 

It is said by some, "Beliefs are only opinions that you have evidence for." This is incorrect. A belief is more evidence based than an opinion though at times there may be a thin line between the two. To say that we believe nothing and have only opinions is too sceptical. A man marries his wife because he believes in her and not just because he has the opinion that it is wise to marry her.
 
People say that you have a right to your opinion. This means it is only fair that you should be allowed to have your opinion. But who allows you? Do we say that you must be allowed to have your opinion just because nobody can stop you? That is not allowing. We should indeed see opinions not as something to be allowed or whatever but just things that happen. Allowing or otherwise does not come into it.
 
People say they have a right to their beliefs and opinions. That is actually a half truth. The correct thing is to say you have a right to your beliefs and opinions as long as you see them as helps on the journey to truth. If you say you have a right to your beliefs and opinions without any concern for truth then you are not being fair. Fairness is based on what is true. The person who sees the truth and calls it a lie is being unfair.
 
A so-called opinion that is not thought out or has no concern for evidence is an assumption not an opinion.
 
There are different strengths of opinion. The more reasons and evidences one has that an opinion is reasonable and possibly true the stronger the opinion is. Some opinions are just barely opinions at all. Sometimes if somebody has an opinion, you may doubt that you can change their minds but what you can do is help them to turn it from a strong opinion to a struggling one. You will do this easily and without upsetting the person if you try and find the common ground with them.
 
A weak opinion cries out for disputation more than a strong one does. An opinion that will cause grave disaster if wrong needs more challenging than one that will not do too much damage.
 
If you say something is your opinion, you are saying it to influence others. The alternative is that you are intending to talk to yourself! When you express an opinion it is a way of asking people to think about sharing that opinion. You are asking people to believe you. Thus you owe them reasons and evidences. You are not asking them to assume it is your opinion. Assuming is no good. You want The person who bases their perception of you on assumptions will never really know you. Their relating to you is false and artificial. You want beliefs to be held about you.
 
A form of fake tolerance manifests when you are asking for your opinion to be accepted as something that should be protected from encouragement to revise it. "I have a right to my opinion" is how it is phrased. It will be used against somebody who helps you see that your opinion may be wrong. It's euphemistic for, "I don't respect you for I want you deny you the right to encourage me to re-think. My opinion is more important than you." Saying you have the right is fine when nobody knows or can know the best thing to do. But to use it to silence somebody is an abuse. If something really is your opinion you will welcome any challenges to it. An opinion is about what you think is true but because you are not sure of it being true you will be willing to give it up when you get further light. If you won't hear it being challenged or debated you are really degrading yourself for the sake of what you call your opinion.
 
The person who knows how to deal with an opinion will use questions in order to help the other person rethink it. Using "I have a right to my opinion" to stop the questions is really just saying, "I am a bigot where you are your questions are concerned. My opinion comes first even before truth. I am addicted to my opinion."
 
Responsibility
 
We have the right to free speech. That is not the same thing as the right to your own opinion. You can have the freedom to say something is your opinion when it is not your opinion at all. The right to voice your opinion implies that you have to take responsibility for what you say and you must not distort or lie. Take responsibility for the consequences.
 
The right to my own opinion thing that people say is really an excuse for refusing to listen to the truth or be challenged about their opinions which amounts to the same thing. It's a cynical discussion stopper. It's a refusal to take responsibility. A responsible person does not misuse their freedom of speech to say that something is to be left unchallenged just because it is their opinion. The people are accusing you of not respecting their right to accept garbage as true. It needs to be seen as rude and that message needs to be put out there. Tell them gently but firmly and politely what they are trying to do. And they know fine well there is no such thing as a right to accept garbage as true when you are being given the chance to see it for the crap it is.
 
They are saying, "I am allowed to believe garbage so let me, but I will impose my belief that you have no right to have the opinion that you should proceed in trying to correct me on you."
 
You will try to reason with somebody about some issue such as right and wrong behaviour or religion. It is very irritating when the other person says, "I have a right to my opinion." This is used to silence you. It really translates as, "My opinion deserves automatic respect. Your opinion that you should try to correct it does not." The audacity!
 
It also translates as, "Let people have whatever opinions or beliefs they want." Nobody who says that means it. What if the vast majority of people took the opinion that religion is a form of schizophrenia and religionists should be incarcerated?

 

You may partly respect a wrong or dangerous opinion. Nothing is all bad. As an opinion is just an opinion, people must be encouraged to voice their opinion even if it is unpopular. A really nasty opinion is nasty but if the holder of the opinion is basing this on evidence, the concern for evidence has to be respected. If you disagree, you must seek the common ground of respect for evidence and use this to help the person reconsider the opinion and open up to new evidence.
 
Seeking automatic respect for yourself is a sign of arrogance. And seeking it for your views is no better and is really seeking it for yourself. "Oh I'm A1 because of what I think!" It would be good to explain that to a person in order to forestall them dismissing what you say with, "I have a right to my opinion." Dismissing what you say is pure rudeness. If you present what you believe or know to a person, who will not deal with it, that is disrespect. You were good enough to give them something to deal with and they were not good enough to face it. Another good idea is when somebody gives their opinion ask them to explain why they hold it is true. Then if they give a silly or useless reason then ask them to explain why it is a reason. They will then see through it themselves. You always need to be clear on how you know something before you start talking about what you know.
 
Dismissing
 
Dismissing is a form of rudeness where you ignore the truth that a person has spoken.  It accuses them of having no right to be taken seriously even if what they say is the absolute truth.
 
The right to my own opinion thing is offering an excuse for unbelief in the truth. What excuse can be as lame as, “Well, they have the right to their own opinion"? Indeed it is not an excuse at all. It is an excuse for those who are too lazy or too selfish to try and gently but firmly stand up for the truth.
 

Inconsistent
 
The gobstopper that you have a right to your opinion is habitually used in matters of morality and religion. But it is not used in geography or matters of mathematics for example. It is unfair to apply it to one field and not others. Why should morality and religion be a free for all for you where you can assert what you want as long as you say you have a right to your opinion and thus reduce others to silence when they might know or see that your opinions are wrong?