I came across something interesting and thought provoking while I was reading the textbook, Rhetoric and Civic Life. I realized that whenever I was in a debate or in a heated conversation where I had to prove my point, my opponents would always cut me off with a “that's just your opinion.”
For some odd reason I would not know what to say back to that. The opponents would continuously argue that since it is my opinion, there's a lack of credibility and nothing can change my belief. Why is there this certain notion that opinions belong to individuals and to challenge a person's opinion is to denigrate a person's character? After reading this and wondering why I even hesitated to argue back, I finally got the courage to fight back a “that's just your opinion.”
Today, my friend who constantly contemplated whether or not she was going to stay this semester at Penn State due to the fact that she misses home too much told me and my friends that there is a high probability that she would be leaving us this coming weekend. Not only did I want her to stay because she is such a good friend of mine but I told her that she has so much going on for her and the education that Penn State offers was phenomenal. Once again, she reasoned that it was only just my opinion.
However, this time around, I calmly responded, “Listen- it may just be my opinion but you believing that home is better for your future is also just your opinion and an assumption. You can't have a conversation without having an opinion.” My argument derives from the reasoning provided by the ancient teachers of Rhetoric where they asserted that opinions are important and there's no such thing as “just your opinion.” Moreover, opinions are malleable because the point of rhetoric, after all, is to change opinions.
This is what I truly believe and live by- disagreeing with a person's opinion is inevitable in life but it does not mean that you're disagreeing with the person for who they are because opinions can always change.
My friend did end up leaving Penn State, not because I lost the battle of our debate but because at the end of the day, it was her choice. She appreciated that I had her best interest in mind though, which was something that I really wanted her to be aware of.
My friend did end up leaving Penn State, not because I lost the battle of our debate but because at the end of the day, it was her choice. She appreciated that I had her best interest in mind though, which was something that I really wanted her to be aware of.
I too have often found myself being shutdown by, "that's jsut your opinion." I think it's great that you finally stood up to someone who was just trying to brush off what you had to say. What you said is true, no matter what you're talking about everyone is going to have their own opinion and we just have to accept it in order to have a productive conversation.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised by how much the story about your friend leaving Penn State affected me. It's a valid point to make. Opinions have become something with a very negative connotation in society. However, opinions are crucial and an important part of personal value. They should be respected and held high in value. I think you really effectively brought a lesson from the classroom into your daily life. Great Job :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that opinions hold value in society and it's not right to shut someone down just because they are stating their opinion, however opinions can become problematic when people refuse to see reason just because they don't want to admit that their opinion was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to know.... did your friend decide to stay or to leave?
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