I heard a lot of
saddening things today. A 15-year-old girl was caught having sex with
25 boys in a school restroom. A band charged €240 for a “VIP
ticket” that only ensured a great seat to an otherwise sold-out
show. A picture of a father cradling his ill son in the shower was
accused of having undertones of pedophilia.
I’d like to think that the good in the world outweighs the bad, but I’m not so sure I’d be right. I’d like to think that the intelligent outnumber the intellectually deficient. But the world keeps leading me to want to think the contrary. I keep finding myself conflicted as to whether I’m right or wrong in thinking how I want to.
The concept of an opinion isn’t something I’ve always been familiar with. I admit that openly. I used to disregard other people’s opinions and think that mine was the truth. But recently, I’ve come to realize that I can’t always be right. Recently, I’ve learned to not disregard other people’s opinions, whether they think similarly or differently about something.
When it comes to respect, I’m a firm believer in the notion that it should be mutual. If I share my opinion on something with someone, I expect them to respect it. If someone shares their opinion on something with me, I’ll do my best to respect it. Now, the reason I say “do my best” is because I haven’t entirely mastered the practice of respecting other people’s opinions.
Take, for instance, the case of the picture that was accused of having pedophiliac undertones. When I heard about that, I couldn’t see for the life of me how those people came to that conclusion. Much less could I respect them for having come to that conclusion. There was nothing explicitly (or even implicitly) sexual about the picture. It was merely a depiction of a father’s love and caring for his ill son, and yet, the dumb fucks had to go and bastardize it in such a manner.
When I form an opinion on something, it tends to never change. I don’t see myself changing my mind about the people who made the picture out to be sexual. If, however, I do change my mind, it will likely happen for very good reasons. What those reasons would most likely be, I can’t predict.
I’m not a fan of debating, and thus I do my best to stay away from debates. Don’t get the wrong idea, though - it’s not because I don’t find my own arguments solid enough, which they may or may not be. Rather, I don’t like debating because of the nature of the act itself. It’s essentially a storm of ideas I should be able to take into account when constructing my own argument, no matter how strongly I feel about whatever the topic of the debate is.
In any case, whether others agree or disagree with me on something, I will do my absolute best to respect their opinions. But that does depend on their reasons and how they present those reasons, if they even present any whatsoever. If not, respecting their opinions will prove difficult for me, if not next to impossible.