By Danna Martínez
An opinion is the expression of a person’s thoughts or feelings. One person’s view has the power to affect the minds of thousands of people.
The term opinion has its origin in the Latin Opînîo. The word “opinion” refers to the impression, judgment, belief, or point of view about something.
Opinions arise as a reaction to past experiences or events. In addition, our criteria or the way we see the world is closely linked to our ability to reason. Consequently, each person has a point of view relative to that of others.
We all think and live different realities. Each happening composes the actuality and view of each person. However, human beings do not necessarily base subjectivity on tangible facts. To comment on an event, we consider our knowledge about what happened and what it made us think and feel. On the other hand, when people transmit information objectively and clearly, they do not include their subjectivity or opinion. The purpose of the media is, for example, to provide information with as little subjectivity as possible. In addition, the media reports on an event so that other people can get their own opinions.
Developing an individual opinion is essential in human communication. The personal judgment allows other people to know our identity. When people understand our opinion, they also comprehend our likes, dislikes, fears, and even preferences. Beyond that, our estimations reflect the cultural, social, and political ideas or positions that we have in society.
Expressing ourselves is a basic need. Knowing how to express our ideas is essential as well. The assessment that we give of a scenario is always valid; because it is an opinion. In the same way, we can be critical and resort to a more in-depth analysis of the situations by presenting our viewpoint. However, if an opinion turns into a destructive criticism, it becomes a problem. When we criticize destructively and without argument, we no longer offer a simple idea; we use our expression to affect another person.
Our opinion is one of the most valuable aspects that we can play in life. It is important to learn to value our opinion as much as the opinions of others.
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