“In my own little corner in my own little chair...” Though shortly before my time, I recall the Rogers & Hammerstein production of Cinderella with Julie Andrews and the song In My Own Little Corner. To a passerby peeping through her window, Cinderella expressed fanciful pipedreams. She had no earthly reason to think she would ever become any of the things of which she sang. Likewise, from My Own Little Corner, the world will more than likely scoff rather than open its arms to me should I ever dream of becoming a Norwegian Princess or an Opinion Shaper.
Opinion Shaper. That's the designated title I supposedly bear. I'll state right up front my scepticism regarding my own opinion let alone surmise I may sway someone else's, but with the task before me, I proceed.
My premise shall be that all opinion is derived and contingent.
Opinion is derived. The polluted rains of our forebears fill our own tainted thought-pool and we expect the product to be pristine springs. Opinion is contingent. By Providence or Preference, seeming random events and influence planted in our preconditioned soil produces that which sways us in unfathomable and incalculable ways. However, everyone believes themselves to be right.
I'm sure we've all heard the adage “Opinions are like armpits; everyone has them.” Yet, this truism fails regarding a person's competent, sure-founded erudition while their own armpits may indeed stink. It is proper, sensible and beneficial for us to trace that person's development and established credentials, leading us to perhaps not visit the auto mechanic when our body exhibits signs of needing neurosurgery. Thus qualified opinion is derived from and contingent upon quality of training, either formal or informal, the person's mental capacity and other influences to be defined later.
A truth, though, remains inherent in man to which we all agree: No one is perfect. Both mechanic and neurosurgeon make mistakes. Why do humans possess and exhibit flaws and what is to be done, if anything? Speculation on this question has proved volatile while creating lucrative professions in Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychotherapy etc. To merely consign the question as incontrovertible shortsightedly diminishes its relevancy when it ought to hold prominence. As a Christian, my answer to “Why” is decidedly derived and contingent, but this opinion is also viewed as a Cinderella flight of fancy.
Once popular in the 19th century, Freethought Societies are re-emerging in America. FreeThought boasts that it is “unrestrained by deference to authority, tradition, or established belief, especially in matters of religion.” [Dictionary.com]
“Unrestrained” as though free from previously derived and contingent notions?
This is wonderfully elusive to them as well. It is also observed that truth is not based on popularity or pragmatism so their self-proclaimed “unrestraint” leads only to more erroneous opinion.
To whom shall I turn for help on things of such magnitude? Shall I give ear to modern entertainers who philosophize and pontificate from their platform of public popularity (as though this were qualification to speak) while leading base, degenerate lives? Shall I join in revering the Greeks as the greatest of thinkers and applaud what they have passed on, even when it has been shown to be divergent from Christian thought? History has exposed what has been valid or invalid reasoning proving that opinion is not set in a vacuum.
Shall I, from My Own Little Corner, presume myself capable of tracing Philosophy from contemporary to ancient? One may never be able to extricate himself when once entering the labyrinth of Topic and Opinion. I contend there are basic few major tenets we hold that drive, shape and color the basic realms of life: Home, Vocation, Government, Religion and History, for example, yet even these are ever-subject to sceptical, capricious amendment producing societal instability. My, how we applaud such scepticism. May I say, a degenerated philosophy born from degenerated theology produces all manner of horrific opinion and act.
There's a reason why Jelly Belly makes 1000 different flavors of their scrumptious candy yet black licorice remains a “controversial” flavor, being either loved or despised. We have come to so adore human volition that the significance of the “choice” to hate licorice or love and endorse corrupt political candidates bears equal weight, thus it seems reasonable to say that licorice-loving politicians are the cause for our multi-trillion dollar deficit.
Everyone believes themselves to be right...from their Own Little Corner.
