Your Opinions Should Be Like Your Clothes

Your opinions should be like your clothes.

No, I'm not joking.

Yes, I will now explain.

These days, I've noticed a fundamental problem with the nature of discourse, especially political discourse and the incessant misinformation of online mass media (some might argue that this problem has always existed, but that's a conversation for another day). As problems go, it's pretty big. Pretty problematic, one might even say. You see, my friends, the trouble lies with opinions. In particular, how people associate themselves with their opinions so strongly that whenever said opinions are rightly questioned, people feel like someone is attacking their very identity. The moment this happens, a civil, constructive debate is virtually impossible.

Of course, I don't claim to offer a solution. But as a writer, what I can offer is an analogy. A very good analogy, in fact, that can be taken very far in interpretation. You've probably already guessed what it is by the title of this post.

Your opinions, dear readers, should be like your clothes.

Whenever you go out to buy new clothes, you know that they aren't going to last forever. Like most things in life, they have a limited lifespan. Now, either you can be smart and start to replace your clothes as soon as you start to see them fade, or you can be stubborn, and hang on to them for years, until they start to fall apart, and you have no option but to replace them. And yet you could still be stubborn, and hold on to your opinions (ahem, clothes) until they've literally been reduced to tatters, and you're pretty much walking around in the harsh, cold weather with nothing but rags covering up your body. Now, if you're out and about and you see someone like this, with holes and tears riddling their entire attire, the decent thing to do is at least tell them about it. "Excuse me! Good sir/madam! I hate to interrupt your fine evening, but, uh, your clothes are quite torn. You might want to do something about that. Rather strange, considering that fancy car you're driving."

Now imagine you're on the other side. If some random stranger says this to you, what would be your response? If you're sane, you'd probably be like "Oh dear! Why, random but remarkably kind stranger, I do believe you're right. I really should buy some new clothes."

And that would be that.

Of course, if you're sane you probably wouldn't find yourself in that situation to begin with, which is exactly my point. If you can afford new clothes, you're not gonna walk around in tatters! No, if you can afford new clothes, you buy new clothes. As soon as it's needed. Maybe you wait for a sale or something, but you do it. The clothes you wear aren't an integral part of your identity or your self-worth, they're just clothes. You might have some sentimental attachment to them, you might like them a lot, and sure, they might be how the whole world judges you, but in the end, they're simply clothes. In fact, even if your wardrobe is an essential part of who you are, you'd still probably want to replace it as soon as possible. Nobody likes wearing a torn attire.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Treat your opinions just as you would treat your clothes. Replace them as soon as needed, don't let them fade and tear, and more importantly, don't associate them with your identity so strongly that you can't let them go. Realize that just like your clothes, you probably don't want to be seen out with holes in your opinions. And finally, if you do happen to find someone with an old, torn, out-of-fashion opinion, tell them about it. Be helpful. Be nice. And if you start to see them get defensive, remind them that quite on the contrary with what they're doing, if they value their opinions, they should probably get around to replacing them as soon as needed. Otherwise, they're just embarrassing themselves.

That's all I have for you today, my friends. Just some thoughts for you to ponder over and possibly consider the next time you're debating someone, whether it be online or in real life. Let me know what you thought in the comments! And as always, thanks for reading.