Is Your Opinion Valid?
Among the many conversations today lie various takes on the Senate hearings into flood control project anomalies, the Israel-Palestine conflict, Charlie Kirk’s assassination, gender politics, and more. As a writer for the Opinion section, I should be knowledgeable enough to take a stand. So I do. I partake in a bit of research, form an opinion, then write my piece. You, as the reader, might choose to trust what I say. Maybe you assume we share the same values. Maybe you nod along, convincing yourself, “Yes, this seems right.” However, in a world where everyone has a platform, suddenly everyone has something to say, and somehow everything must be respected and counted as valid. Regardless of whether it’s informed and fact-based or not, since “everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” everything counts. The premise of relativism tells us that every opinion can be as valuable and true as the next, and be justified merely by the context in which it is said.
But hear me out with this unpopular opinion: truth is absolute! It’s good to be open-minded, and every person deserves respect, but not every opinion does. There are simply many opinions out there that lack merit. The reactions online to Sara Duterte’s impeachment show how quickly people form and spread opinions without taking the time to fact-check and understand the legal context of the issue. Even heavier, pressing issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict, for instance, show how misinformed people can be. We see others reducing the entire issue into a 60-second TikTok claiming to give you “all you need to know,” stripping it of its context. Even gender politics, which affect real people in real ways every day, can be twisted into mere slogans and false narratives when lacking discernment and complete, legitimate facts.
Unfortunately, challenging other viewpoints different from yours is considered “intolerant” these days, even if done so respectfully. The truth is, not every opinion should hold the same weight when some are actually factual, and others are built on assumptions, heresy, or baseless rants. This is exactly why we assign more value to the opinions of experts when in court or in research panels, because their credibility is more trustworthy (and respectable) in the sense that their opinions must be rooted in proven knowledge and evidence.
The issue of fact-checking (or lack thereof) is also worth mentioning because media literacy should not be optional. It sounds simple, but even nowadays, many people don’t stop to question the credibility of their sources. Whether it’s TikTok philosophy, a political Facebook post (that might actually be AI-generated), or a secondhand story you hear from a friend, you must consider the possibility of even your most trusted sources being wrong. Question everything you see, read, and hear until it’s proven. In the same way, I hope you’ve questioned what you’ve read from my article as well.
This all means we must call for accountability, especially for students in organizations or varsities like Lifenews, Debate, and Model United Nations. Opinion pieces, debate speeches, and position papers aren’t just about having something to say; they’re about saying something worth hearing. Our words have weight. Taking the stage to express your uninformed opinions undermines the voices of those who actually have something valuable to say. Furthermore, the damage that comes from careless opinions, such as those based on cherry-picked evidence, omission bias, or nothing at all, affects not just others but also your reputation and credibility. Everything that comes out of our mouths is a reflection of who we are and what we believe in. We must recognize that we aren’t knowledgeable on everything, let alone truly educated enough to make an informed opinion on each one. The world is too full of issues for us to pretend we are genuinely educated on each one, and there are some things that we just don’t need to have an opinion about.
To put it briefly, you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. We also have the right to express our own opinions, but not without responsibility and accountability. Let’s not add to the noise and spread of misinformation. Hence, I urge you all to be informed, for your own good: educate yourself, fact-check, and really grasp the topic at hand entirely before forming an opinion. Because while you can say anything, should you really?
