DASG - The old fart grumbles
,,Opinion"
Whenever I hear someone say: "That's my opinion," my inner warning lights start flashing. Angry words push their way out of my brain and towards my tongue. Only a polite restraint mode prevents sentences in which I would like to ask the other person to express their opinion to fold it up and use your own available opening.
By Jürgen König
Whenever I hear someone say: "That's my opinion," my inner warning lights start flashing. Angry words push their way out of my brain and towards my tongue. Only a polite restraint mode prevents sentences in which I would like to ask the other person to express their opinion to fold it up and use your own available opening.
By Jürgen König
What a big sigh of relief it was back then when the freedom of expression, guaranteed by the constitution in the GDR but never actually permitted in reality, was replaced by real freedom of expression in the 1990s thanks to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was fascinating to suddenly be able to say things at any time that weren't watered down by learned general phrases. I can still remember that one of the new Western bosses actually asked me to defend myself loudly and not to accept everything without comment. I was very grateful for this invitation. Up to this point, I had never encountered any superiors who encouraged objections. However, I have never met them again since then.
And nevertheless. The last decade of the 20th century made me see that freedom of speech was a fine thing. But I also had to learn pretty quickly: freedom of expression does not necessarily mean that an opinion is necessarily correct. Although I could say everything I thought, there were always people who knew exactly how everything worked and what needed to be done. And I realized that it took some effort to make your own opinion heard. There was nothing that could be done without an objective discussion. Good this way.
And today? Say what you want, call it an opinion and feel important and relevant. But please don't expect your view to be the incontrovertible truth. At least for me that is the basis of an opinion. But today's reality is different for many: Do not consider that there could be other "truths". Replace factual knowledge with loudness. View contradiction as a personal attack. Assume all other opinions as either ignorance, stupidity or government-controlled campaign thinking.
Good Lord. What is opinion then? In the best case, a statement that is the result of long reflections that have been thought about for at least a few minutes. So don't say incredibly stupid sayings like: "She just needs to be fucked properly and then she'll get back on track" or "All politicians are criminals" or "The media are system whores" or "The weather is controlled by them "Elites manipulated to minimize humanity". Sure, these are opinions. But please understand that an opinion alone
can never meaningfully change anything. An opinion can only be part of a process that, at best, leads to a solution in discourse. Weighing up the pros and cons must be the basis for any action.
For years, when I was still working for public broadcasting, I had to read emails like this one: "I already wrote last week that this author absolutely needs to be dismissed. Nobody cares about the junk. Why is he/she still on the program? What's going on with you?" And I would have liked to answer: "Listen, you idiot. Your shitty opinion is completely inappropriate here. There are 10x more people who want to hear exactly what x/y is saying has to say. Could it be that you are taking yourself a little too seriously?" Instead, I replied that you have to have a certain amount of tolerance when listening to the radio, because there are always different views on any topic and that it is virtually impossible to please everyone. And I didn't even say anything wrong.
Nevertheless, I find it increasingly difficult to tolerate certain opinions. Especially if the person rejects any form of counter-speech and closes himself to all arguments that question his views. Actually, I should say to myself: "Let him have his opinion. He has a right to it. Just like I have a right to my opinion." But that's not the problem at all.
The question is rather how to deal with this flood of irreconcilable "opinions". How can you find a common denominator that is acceptable to everyone and, at best, advances some things? I can only repeat: opinions are not facts. Never . Under no circumstances. At best, they are aspects that are part of a cognitive process that leads to a generally valid result that takes into account as many points of view as possible. Although in the current time of excitement this seems to be quixotic wishful thinking. Nobody listens to the other person . Nobody tries to at least understand the other person's thoughts, even if that sometimes seems almost impossible. Too many opinions can't be surpassed in terms of absurdity, I feel. But that's exactly what the other person thinks about my views. A dilemma. You want to despair .
Where is the so-called common sense or at least the will to balance? Is it all about ego, manipulation, being entitled, resentment, envy and ultimately about power and then securing it at all costs?
I'm at a loss. I am angry.
And as I write this there is a TV on in the background and a Dr. Heilmann is saying, as if he had already read my text: "The nice thing about opinions is that you don't have to share them."
Does this help me? No.
02/28/24
*Jürgen König worked in public media for 33 years*
And nevertheless. The last decade of the 20th century made me see that freedom of speech was a fine thing. But I also had to learn pretty quickly: freedom of expression does not necessarily mean that an opinion is necessarily correct. Although I could say everything I thought, there were always people who knew exactly how everything worked and what needed to be done. And I realized that it took some effort to make your own opinion heard. There was nothing that could be done without an objective discussion. Good this way.
And today? Say what you want, call it an opinion and feel important and relevant. But please don't expect your view to be the incontrovertible truth. At least for me that is the basis of an opinion. But today's reality is different for many: Do not consider that there could be other "truths". Replace factual knowledge with loudness. View contradiction as a personal attack. Assume all other opinions as either ignorance, stupidity or government-controlled campaign thinking.
Good Lord. What is opinion then? In the best case, a statement that is the result of long reflections that have been thought about for at least a few minutes. So don't say incredibly stupid sayings like: "She just needs to be fucked properly and then she'll get back on track" or "All politicians are criminals" or "The media are system whores" or "The weather is controlled by them "Elites manipulated to minimize humanity". Sure, these are opinions. But please understand that an opinion alone
can never meaningfully change anything. An opinion can only be part of a process that, at best, leads to a solution in discourse. Weighing up the pros and cons must be the basis for any action.
For years, when I was still working for public broadcasting, I had to read emails like this one: "I already wrote last week that this author absolutely needs to be dismissed. Nobody cares about the junk. Why is he/she still on the program? What's going on with you?" And I would have liked to answer: "Listen, you idiot. Your shitty opinion is completely inappropriate here. There are 10x more people who want to hear exactly what x/y is saying has to say. Could it be that you are taking yourself a little too seriously?" Instead, I replied that you have to have a certain amount of tolerance when listening to the radio, because there are always different views on any topic and that it is virtually impossible to please everyone. And I didn't even say anything wrong.
Nevertheless, I find it increasingly difficult to tolerate certain opinions. Especially if the person rejects any form of counter-speech and closes himself to all arguments that question his views. Actually, I should say to myself: "Let him have his opinion. He has a right to it. Just like I have a right to my opinion." But that's not the problem at all.
The question is rather how to deal with this flood of irreconcilable "opinions". How can you find a common denominator that is acceptable to everyone and, at best, advances some things? I can only repeat: opinions are not facts. Never . Under no circumstances. At best, they are aspects that are part of a cognitive process that leads to a generally valid result that takes into account as many points of view as possible. Although in the current time of excitement this seems to be quixotic wishful thinking. Nobody listens to the other person . Nobody tries to at least understand the other person's thoughts, even if that sometimes seems almost impossible. Too many opinions can't be surpassed in terms of absurdity, I feel. But that's exactly what the other person thinks about my views. A dilemma. You want to despair .
Where is the so-called common sense or at least the will to balance? Is it all about ego, manipulation, being entitled, resentment, envy and ultimately about power and then securing it at all costs?
I'm at a loss. I am angry.
And as I write this there is a TV on in the background and a Dr. Heilmann is saying, as if he had already read my text: "The nice thing about opinions is that you don't have to share them."
Does this help me? No.
02/28/24
*Jürgen König worked in public media for 33 years*
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