Op Inion

Opinion and its freedom. Freedom and its opinion.

"What do you think about it?" is one of those friendly but sometimes stress-inducing questions.
Someone's asking me what I think about something? 
How great is that. Who doesn't love being asked for their own opinion?

"I think that..." The rest is the essence or the spontaneous impulse of an articulate person — how she or he sees the matter.
An opinion in itself is merely a brief explanation that either puts the conversation to sleep or provokes the participants into heated rebuttals.

Hey, without opinions we would have long since died of boredom.

How does one of these opinions come about, and what are the ingredients?
Well, opinions often draw on personal experiences, weave some knowledge into their construction, recall previously defined values, and are ultimately enriched with emotions. 
And there you have it — the opinions ready for publication.

So an opinion is a completely freely defined statement. Right?
No. After all, practically nobody lives in a cave or under a rock.

Opinions are flexible things that keep drawing on additional sources.
Usually, people exchange ideas among fellow Homo Sapiens, read media reports, and enjoy the benefits of education.
An opinion is hungry and thirsty. 
It either wants to be reinforced and confirmed in its foundations, or it's willing to change when contradictory information elbows its way into its framework.
From this, the concept of "forming an opinion" was born.

What an opinion can never replace, however, are the truths, the realities, and the facts.
That is, at least, my opinion.

Once an opinion has settled comfortably into one's personal sense of things, it doesn't want to be constantly disturbed or changed. But the opinion stays composed. Or is composed. Whatever.

I enjoy disagreements. Very much so. 
Because in discussions, the heat and energy in the exchange become intensely spiced and fired up.
Hey, that's life!

But these exchanges of opinions are also dangerous. Billions of opinions lose their lives in such heated battles. 
And they have to face a differing view and another perspective in order to survive as an opinion.

These changes were enormously disruptive and annoying for me and my opinions.
After all, I've invested a lot of energy, brainpower, and curiosity to form such opinions.
Education is, after all, just so incredibly valuable.

But then, from the mouth across or from the newspaper in front of me, a contrary and therefore painful perspective emerged — one that shook the very foundation of my opinion. 

Oh, damn!

At some point I read or heard a viewpoint that comforted me and has fascinated me ever since.
Whoever catches their opinion in an error should be grateful.
Because when an opinion realigns itself with the facts and changes, the error has been eliminated.
Ergo, the opinion has improved, clarified itself, and has become correspondingly more valuable.

I enjoy exchanging things. Especially opinions and views with other thinking beings. 
That's not only fun, but — as mentioned above — it encourages some preconceived opinions to reconsider the whole thing.

This story came about — like all the other Morning Splinter stories before it — from a first word at five in the morning.
No — the second word is the trigger for the story. The first word is always COFFEE!
When a word intrigues me, I write the story without thinking too much — at least not consciously. See the timestamp.
And this approach raises questions.

How many opinions are packed into it?
Were those opinions correct?

Relax! After all, I get quite a bit of feedback from people with opinions and the ability to read. 
They write to me when my story collides with their opinions.
And it's precisely these shared opinions from others that make storytelling so incredibly compelling.

I'd love to read your opinion. 
So go ahead — let's hear it!