It’s my opinion - feel free to disagree
Gemma is reminding us in her column this week that her views are published under the banner of opinion/comment and readers can take them or leave them...
Opinions are very complex things. I remember one day while in Malta, one person announced that they thought Islam was the best religion in the world because it was the most logical.
I was doing work on my laptop; the kitchen was fairly full. Our extremely multicultural kitchen, where people of many religions carried out their daily lives, cooking, doing assignments, celebrating birthdays, drinking and indeed talking about our lives at home. It all took place in our kitchen. Nobody responded to his comment.
“Wouldn’t you agree?” he asked the room. I could see the annoyance across people’s faces. I waited for someone to respond. Eventually I said: “I wouldn’t know enough to agree or disagree” which resulted in him telling me about some of their traditions. It was a very interesting conversation.
According to the Collins English dictionary: “Your opinion about something is what you think or what you believe about it.”
It could be anything under the sun, be it your opinion on a person, a food, or a world religion. I believe opinions and beliefs are shaped by our experiences. When my flatmate made this comment about his family's religion, I understood that he was commenting on a practice, which he was reared with, he understood it and it made sense to him so much so that he thought it was the most logical one in the world.
I admired the love he had for his religion, and his passion in sharing the view with others. I wouldn’t have shared the view relating to my religion, because I knew there were others within the room with different beliefs that I did not know enough about. His making the comment did not bother me in the slightest; to him it was the best religion in the world and that is perfectly okay to say. He is entitled to his opinion.
The part which I wouldn’t have included was the second bit, asking everybody to agree.
Upon being given this opinion column, I was extremely nervous. Of course, I have opinions on all sorts of topics shaped by my experiences to date. In saying this, and even though I might not agree with them, I do love hearing other people’s opinions. In this way, we can learn, see things from other points of view and have a greater understanding of society. In the situation I mentioned earlier, I learned more about Islam. I genuinely enjoy listening to the experiences of others, and if they are different from my own, all the better.
I will also talk about my experiences, what I have learned over the course of my life and give my opinions, but I am not forceful with them. I would never try to convert someone to think the same as me. Who am I to say what is right and what is wrong? I can and will believe what want, and I can tell you what I think; but when it comes to what you want to believe, that’s your business.
Due to the fact that this is an opinion column, it will contain my opinion. The thing that I enjoy about this, although I would rather give my opinions in a one-to-one conversation, is that people often contribute with theirs and just like that a conversation begins.
At home, when somebody snaps or says something particularly strong, the person on the receiving end would cough and say “let me get you out of my throat". In other words, there’s no need to shove things down a person's throat.
Perhaps it's for this reason that I would be more of a listener in group settings. I am good at staying silent, listening to others, and forming my opinions quietly. Sometimes I would share, but I never feel an overwhelming need.
If I am asked I will, if not I usually wouldn’t.
So here, you will find my opinion. Agree with it, disagree, feel free to send your thoughts. The more views I hear the better.
That is not, however, to say that I agree with them and, of course, that means that I don’t expect you to agree with mine.
That doesn’t mean that either party is wrong, but we are all entitled to share our thoughts.
* Gemma Good is from Killeshandra and a third year journalism student in University of Limerick
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