It seems today everyone has an opinion about something. On etymological  matters such as these I go to Webster’s: Opinion, a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter. Sounds healthy enough. The key words to me are view and judgment. These are not incontrovertible facts but a reasoning or deduction of sorts.

 My first thought is to consider the source. Is this person considered an expert on that particular topic or are they just shooting from the hip? Did they derive their thesis from years of study or is it the diploma of the streets that gives them a sense of authenticity? You and I have all run into someone who spouts off with not a lot of know how. Such are our times.

I did a talk on Global Migration a few months ago. What gave me the right? First I used a well thought out syllabus from the Institute of Foreign Policy. I also spent a fair amount of time studying and reading. I was not an expert by any means but I had some chops. 

People asked me if I was nuts speaking on such a volatile subject but hopefully I took them on a journey through facts. What are the numbers? What is the law? What is the current state of our facilities? As I prepared and learned facts I found myself drifting from one side of the argument to the other. Maybe I could offer God forbid, an informed opinion? 

I will tell you today it is the law that if someone presents themselves at our doorstep requesting asylum they are heard by a border control officer. If they are denied they have a right to appeal and stay until they are heard. Now you may have an opinion for or against but that is the law. 

Now the numbers become startling. There are over 1 million people who have requested asylum. There are 394 judges who will hear those appeals. These people have to be processed properly and that takes time for an overwhelmed Border Patrol. The facilities were outposts to hold four or five people in detention not hundreds and thousands. You can have an opinion as to whether that is the proper way to do it but that is what we as a society have set up through our legislatures and bureaucracy. 

I think where we go astray is by considering our machinations to be without fault. We think our sources are irrefutable. Joe Jones told me this and of course he knows what he is talking about. Time after time I have questioned people’s logic and they cannot say with certainty the origin of their facts. 

It is rather bizarre in our info inflated world there are so many false accusations and assumptions on both sides of the fence. I think when you get right down to it, the hoi polloi and even the cognoscenti should really do more dumpster diving before they shoot their mouths off. Fuggedaboutit TTG ! Well we can always dream, can’t we?

In truth we all believe that our opinions are true and valid. They are part of our psyche. Some seem right. Some seem terribly wrong. They have been formed over years or etched because of certain event. We can vote them out of the mainstream but if we are to have any credence as a democracy we must at least allow them to think so. 

I am not a fan of Colin Kapernick nor Wayne Lapierre. I cringe at Hannity. I wince at Maddow. We can allow them soap boxes and even praise them. But we cannot accept what they say as fact driven truth. It is an opinion and they are entitled to it. 

The most interesting part of all this is that I probably agree on at least one tenet espoused by all of the above. Something in there makes sense when stripped of the dramatics and vitriol. I have this crazy thought that if we assembled a little from each we could find a workable solution to our knottiest of problems. But then again that is just my opinion. 

As always

 Ted The Great 

Factoids:

The difference between fact and opinion on the following grounds: The fact is described as the statement that can be verified or proved to be true. Opinion is an expression of judgment or belief about something. Fact relies on observation or research while opinion is based on assumption.

Types of Opinions:

Op Ed 

Legal Opinon

Financial  Opinion

Judicial Opinion: Majority, Concurring,Dissenting

Critical  Opinion in Art, Music, Golf Swings !!!!

And in al of them they are just opinions. 

IMHO: In my humble option. Are you kidding me? Who is humble?