Beware of Opinionism

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If I could make one piece of writing a requirement for anyone wanting to graduate from high school or college, it would be Chapter 2 of John Stuart Mill's great work - "On Liberty." I fear for the future of any nation that forgets why this chapter needed to be written.

If anyone would like to give it a try, here are links to both a written and an audio version. At either site, skip down to "Ch 2 - Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion."

Text:
http://www.constitution.org/jsm/liberty.htm

Audio:
http://librivox.org/on-liberty-by-john-stuart-mill/

Let me try to summarize what I think is the most significant theme that Mill is covering:

1. Many different forces and influences go into what people believe. It's NOT just a matter of looking objectively at facts and making a decision to believe "the truth." Our beliefs are influenced by things like past experience, personality, our desires, our preferences, the people we hang out with, the media we pay most attention to, the entertainment we choose, etc. All these create a mental environment that makes some things seem more true than others - regardless of whatever all the facts may be.

2. When a whole nation of people begins to accept some fundamental belief, there are a million subjective ways that that belief is being encouraged and strengthened, regardless of what the facts may be. There are many reasons for people to WANT others to believe certain things and to encourage such beliefs. It is quite possible - and proven many times in history - that an entire nation, society or culture can be taught to believe (or be forced to support) something that is simply not true. And of course, this can lead to tragedies on a wide scale.

3. Therefore, in order to remain healthy, a society must vigorously defend the rights of those who disagree with the status quo. The minority viewpoint on things MUST be heard, no matter how wrong it is judged to be by the majority. Once again, it is quite possible - and proven many times in history - that a minority opinion turns out to be closer to the facts. A group of people is on the way to self-destruction if it can no longer engage in civil, respectful dialogue about their disagreements. This is true of families, businesses, classrooms, etc. ...all the way up to nations and beyond.

A famous quote to ponder, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

I would add, please do the same for me.
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