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Opinions
Thu, August 27, 2009 
If there is one thing I learned building bicycle frames; it is that no two people are alike.
If you could assemble a hundred people, all the exact same height, and then further separate into groups all those with similar leg length.
You would find within those groups, the thigh, lower leg and foot measurements would all vary.
Even within the same race, people have different facial features, complexions, hair color, etc. When you consider all peoples, the variations are infinite. An idividual's finger prints are unique, and now we know that DNA is too.
Most decent people accept these differences and even those who don’t, would seldom question why. Therefore, it really should be no surprise that people’s opinions will vary even more infinitely than our physical differences.
What are opinions but a collection of thoughts, based on our individual beliefs and experiences? Sometimes called a “Point of View,” meaning literally, the world as one individual sees it from where he stands.
No two individuals can have the same view if they stand in different places.
In spite of this we sometimes argue and fight defending our point of view, or trying to impose our opinions on others.
My father was an opinionated man. The problem was he didn’t have the education to back up or debate his opinions.
He was his own worst enemy; he couldn’t keep a job longer than a few months and he would be fired for mouthing off to his employer, or fighting with a co-worker.
Because he didn’t have intellect to back up his convictions, if someone strongly disagreed with him, he would get physical and fists would start flying.
The problem was made worse by his heavy drinking. He never owned a car, and a bicycle was his only means of transport, outside of public transport.
He was constantly arrested for being drunk and disorderly, and banned from every pub within a ten mile radius of our home. He would have to ride his bicycle further and further afield to get his beer.
Sad really, my father (Pictured right as a young soldier in the British Army.) in later life had no friends; nobody liked him. All because he would insist on foisting his opinions on other people. Why do some have this trait?
We accept every other difference in the human species, why do we expect the thought pattern of others to be in line with ours? We are each a free thinking spirit, and I can’t think of anything more random that a person's thoughts.
I think it is because our opinions are the yardstick by which we view and evaluate the world. It is how we judge situations and other people. Our opinions have been formed largely by our life experiences, our parents, teachers and other pivotal people in our lives.
Our opinions change over time, and with changing circumstances; if we find a better one we change it. However, at any given time our opinion is the best it can be. We just can’t understand why anyone would have a different opinion, after all, ours is the best.
It is not the difference of opinion that is wrong, it is the failure to see that the other’s view point is from an entirely different place.
I have found that defending my point of view is just a huge waste of energy. It achieves little; rarely does either side move any closer to the other’s way of thinking.
It is the single most cause of conflict between individuals, co-workers, friends, and families. On a larger scale, it is the basic reason nations assemble armies and go to war with each other.
Speaking of which, my father was aged 19, in 1929 and in the British Army fighting rebels on the Northwest Frontier of India. Under British rule at the time, that same area is now the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
This happened long before my birth, and now we are fighting the descendents of the people my father once fought. Does anything change, and in eighty years has anyone changed the other’s point of view?
Just my opinion.
Reader Comments (13)
Some opinions are well founded. When you have a entity like the British going to all places they can find on a map and colonizing it, subjugating its people to her own will, murdering hundreds, carving up subcontinents, plundering their natural resources and looting them, and using clever 'divide and rule' policies to create chaos from within, should you be surprised if a 9 year old kid wielded a stick along with hundreds of others in 'rebellion'? Sadly, these mega forces of imperialism weren't called terrorists in those days. As always, history is written by the victors. Sigh.
Ron,
As a regular contributor to comments here, your input is always appreciated. However, the piece is on the subject of opinions, and whether defending one’s point of view is a worthwhile proposition.
The final paragraph asks if in 80 years, whether people living in the border region of Afghanistan/Pakistan and the people currently fighting them, have had any change of opinion? I was trying to demonstrate the futility of trying to impose opinion on others, especialy by force.
The piece was not a comment on the pros and cons of British Imperialism. When I was a kid much of the British Empire was still in place. I have witnessed firsthand in my lifetime, mistakes made by governments. As I stated in the article, I will not be drawn into any politically charged discussion.
I left your comment in place. It serves as a good example of an opinion. But please, the topic is “Opinions.” Let’s keep on topic.
Dave.
Sometimes conflict is not a matter of opposing opinions. Instead, it has to do with defending personal safety...which some opine is the purpose of the conflict in the middle east you cited. Different points of view are interesting when they do not harm one's self or family. When those opinions begin to infringe in that realm. Conflict resolution is needed.
Chris,
The conflict in the Middle East can be traced back to the Crusades in the Middle Ages, when Christians decided to impose their will on Muslims. That was followed by British rule in the area.
Now we have people of the Islamic faith who want to kill us. Following a religion is an opinion. That the Christian way or the Islamic way is the right way is an opinion. Isn’t that what the whole conflict is about?
In answering your question I am forced to give an opinion, and there is a limit how far I will argue my POV, before I simply say let’s agree to disagree.
Dave
Dave,
We are humans. Possibly ever since language was formed and writing found as a medium to express ideas, we have been opinionated beings. All those great bearded philosophers who came before us, they were all opinionated. If religion is an opinion, philosophy of non-religion must be an opinion as well. Surely, there are no rights to a philosophical question such as "who are we" or "what happens after death" and so on. These are important question, yet no one can answer them right. We follow someone's opinion depending on what opinion we like or fits with cultural backgrounds and upbringing. Imagine, we're like living in a big supermarket that works on barter of ideas. We are roaming on the isles, looking at people opinion, taking a few that suit us or are "cool", giving a few that suits someone else etc etc. Science does not have answers, in fact even they are opinions, sometimes even wrong. A whole line of science textbooks are being rewritten or changed now because of what satellites are discovering in outer space. We don't live in a universe it seems, we now live in a multiverse based on their findings. There's plenty of answers we don't know.
The piece about the Britain and what they did to their colonies is one grave fact. And as you saw yourself, you cannot withhold giving opinions, sometimes strangely inadequate ones. Example, "People of Islamic faith wants to kill us". Its time to swtich off that television. Is it Fox News ?
"Science does not have answers, in fact even they are opinions, sometimes even wrong." Excuse me, I meant to say science does not have ALL the answers.
If you want biased, opinionated drivel that is passed off as news, FOX is the place to go...just my opinion.
This is a really decent post and a bit of a sad story. It would be interesting to understand why your Dad behaved like this. He may have actually been right, yet frustrated.
I know what you mean about opinions. Trouble is some folks have a monopoly power over others on opinion. You HAVE to listen to them else you lose your job. They do not listen to you because they would lose theirs. When I arrive at the latter situation I have found the following approach delivers the best results:
"If I'm prepared to accept the "possibility" that your idea is true, will you accept the possibility that my idea is true?"
If you can get agreement here, the dialogue usually proceeds. If not you can only persevere with the approach or walk away.
Your ant-Islamic rhetoric opinions are funny to hear. Go to PBS.org and watch some great videos that give you a balanced outlook of the world. Who is really wrong? Why do they "hate us"? Here's a great video to start from. Its on Iran.
Ken,
What anti Islamic rhetoric? I thought my view was pretty neutral, coming down on neither side.
Dave
Dave....How did you overcome this, why didn't you turn out like your dad? I ask because I have a mother, still living at age 74, who is very opinionated and racist. She has no friends because she finds something wrong with everybody she comes in contact with. Early in life I was very much like her, but over time have had an awakening about her way of thinking.
Hi Dave -
I subscribe to your blog in my newsreader, and I always check it out. I especially enjoy your posts about the great cyclists of yore, eg. Fausto Coppi. I had never heard of these guys, and the photos and accounts of their cycling lives are fascinating info.
just letting you know.
js
I took a class one time that pointed out that we all, by some hard wired means, assume that everyone else is just like us. Old brain stuff. Thus, if someone is obviously different then there must be something wrong with them which may be cause for fear which leads to hate. It is the thinking or maybe educated person who can understand the fallacy of this brain feature that may have at one time had a positive function. That is to say, it is a choice.
-Rob