Putting a Target on My Back

I’m excited to announce that I’ve become a ‘regular opinion columnist’ for a local paper: The Hartley Sentinel/Everly-Royal News. My columns appear on the first Thursday of every month.  At this time, the paper is not digital, but I may be sharing pieces on this blog occasionally.  Below is my first column which went to print in August, 2016:

Putting a Target on My Back

Opinion pieces always put a target on the writer’s back.  They are a public statement of personal beliefs and can draw fire from those who disagree.  An opinion is just that—an opinion—a belief that cannot be proven.   The dictionary definition of opinion is, “A belief or judgement that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.”

Even so, some opinions are so deeply entrenched that it would be easier to extract a tooth than pull a misguided belief from the mind.  Leon Festinger, Stanford University psychologist, once commented, “A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.”

People tend to put forth their opinions as truth, even when facts contradict them.  To use a farming analogy, beliefs are like fence posts in the mind.  Just as fence posts hold tightly strung wires together, our beliefs hold our world together—how we think and the conclusions we draw.   To admit that an opinion is wrong is to shake our entire belief system to its foundation.   Consequently, when presented with factual evidence contrary to a deeply held belief, people may respond illogically or become overly emotional.

However, it’s a measure of maturity to be able to consider opposing points of view, weigh the pros and cons, and come to a logical conclusion by either agreeing or disagreeing with the new information.  This scenario used to be the norm, but is becoming rare today in the age of internet and instant communication.

It’s no longer necessary to verify facts and civilly debate opposing viewpoints.  Opinions not considered politically correct or contrary to current social and political trends, immediately become the subject of internet lynching.  Vile comments and personal attacks spontaneously combust online and in the media.  Falsehoods and slanderous memes fill the news-feeds of Facebook.  They receive thousands of ‘shares’ without verification.  Bloggers watch the latest news threads and their screens light up with unsubstantiated facts, accepted simply because they fit the current spin.

Few people like putting a target on their back to subject themselves to name-calling and worse. Stepping into the fray to ask questions or point out errors is akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull.  That’s why most choose to remain silent rather than risk the becoming a target.  Society is the loser.  Freedom of thought and expression is necessary in a free and robust country.  The founding fathers added the First Amendment to ensure that all sides of all issues always have a voice not silenced by government or private entities.  Thankfully, in spite of numerous court challenges, this guarantee still stands 240 years later.

Having said this, readers may ask why I’m excited to share my opinion pieces with this paper’s readers.  Simply put, I enjoy it.  As a news junkie and freelance writer, writing op-ed columns is a natural fit.  Several of my pieces have been published in newspapers across the state and online.  Some draw fire from those who disagree, but many more have produced words of encouragement.

A journalist friend once told me to ask myself this question before publishing anything controversial:  “Is this the hill I’m prepared to die on?”  Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that, but I have taken her advice to heart and always weigh my options before writing about any debatable topic.  In the coming months, you will see my opinions on a variety of issues in this column. Interested readers are encouraged to respond with their comments, both pro and con.  The goal is polite dialogue between people to open minds to new ideas and possibilities—without anybody feeling like they have a target on their back.