Letter from the Editor: It’s OK to not have an opinion on everything
In the wise words of comedian Bo Burnham “Is it necessary that every single person on this planet, um, expresses every single opinion that they have on every single thing that occurs all at the same time? Is that, is that necessary? Um, Or to ask in a slightly different way, um, can, can anyone shut the fuck up?”
In this final issue of the Summer Trojan and my final issue as opinion section editor, I’d like to say that, while opinions can be important, this emergent trend of having an opinion on everything is an insidious moral cancer to the world.
On their own, opinions mean nothing. Say it with me, having an opinion on something means little to nothing. Maybe an opinion can lead to something (and I mean something in the vaguest way possible because they don’t always lead to the betterment of society), but having an opinion on something makes you no different than any other random person who likely also can have an opinion on something.
That being said, I find it weird that we praise people for their opinions and reprimand them for not having any. There are three main reasons why I think that and, ironically, here is my opinion on opinions.
First of all, I think that the expectation to be informed and proactive about every social issue diminishes the amount of good an individual is actually able to accomplish in the world. In a world rife with chaos, confusion and uncertainty, you are not going to harmonize all of it with one swift wave of your hands.
Your energy is best spent at work on something that you can actually improve. I’m not saying not to do what you can when you can, but I am saying that if you have a limited amount of resources that you can allocate to doing good (which, shocker, we all do), then maybe you should focus the majority of it on a handful of causes consistently. Pick a target, and aim at it as opposed to aimlessly shooting your efforts everywhere.
You know about the dangers of performative activism, and while a lot of it can be attributed to some weird virtue signaling ego-trip, a lot of it can also be attributed to the new societal expectation that every cause must be your cause to fulfill your moral obligation. This is an impossible standard, and so take it from me, someone who (embarrassingly) prides themselves on their opinions, it is more effective for you to not have an opinion on every single thing that happens. Get good at knowing about one or two things and go from there.
A second reason why having an opinion on everything is bad is because it encourages the spread of misinformation. In this era where we have access to information on every injustice happening on every square inch of the globe, we are quick to conflate this ability to access information with the ability to understand and truly reckon with it. While we may be technically able to learn about every issue that plagues the world, that does not mean that we are mentally able to grapple with every one of these issues. However, insomuch as society ascribes these very kinds of impossible levels of pondering as a moral standard, those wishing to reach these standards will be more likely to blindly accept the opinions of others as their own to fill in their own blanks. We’re so quick to blame big tech for the way that misinformation spreads like wildfire, and while I have many bones to pick with big tech, I think the outrage culture that we all cultivate daily by reprimanding each other for not speaking out on everything is something that big tech exploits to promote this misinformation.
Finally, it’s a privilege to have an opinion on everything. Most people just do not have that kind of time and energy. They have families and responsibilities and their own mental health to worry about. So, once again, I’d like to reiterate that having an opinion on something or not having an opinion on something holds very little moral value. Call me crazy, but if your priorities are putting food on your family’s table and not solving the Israel-Palestine conflict during the week it dominates the news cycle, I wouldn’t call you a bad person.
I’ll end with a more personal observation on having an opinion on everything: It is spiritually exhausting. I think that a lot of religious and spiritual practice tries to warn us of this. They preach non-judgement; they tell us to love our neighbours no matter who they are, etc. I think that somewhere along the line we have forgotten this ancient, hard-earned wisdom. So, I’ll leave you with this Zen parable that may just be my Gen Z coping mechanism in a world that can be caught crumbling in HD with 50 million views on TikTok but that has nonetheless helped me combat anxiety and spiritual exhaustion:
“There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. ‘Such bad luck,’ they said sympathetically. ‘May be,’ the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. ‘How wonderful,’ the neighbors exclaimed. ‘May be,’ replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. ‘May be,’ answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. ‘May be,’ said the farmer.”
It can be hard to know good from bad, so just do your best and take care of yourself out there.