By Abigail Shaha
Wednesday's lunch started innocently. My friends and I had been enjoying eating in the terrace, debating the new stimulus package. But everything came to a screeching halt when a stranger sharing the table confidently stated that nothing good ever has or ever will come from the Democratic Party. He continued to say that because the Democratic Party supports abortion and gay marriage, no one who affiliates themselves with the Democratic Party should be allowed to hold a temple recommend.
Suddenly the table was quiet. What can you say to follow that? Comments like that are not only grossly unintelligent, they dead-end the discussion. All that was left were those ludicrous comments still hovering in the air, and a few minds grinding against the grain trying to find any sense in them.
This kind of encounter is not unique. It may not always be this extreme, but overly confident individuals use their personal opinions and blanket statements to smother discussions all the time. But those comments defeat the purpose.
What's the point of having strong opinions if they end the conversation? The whole purpose of sharing personal opinions is to provoke thought, add insight and further the overall discussion. They're glimpses into the unique ideas and experiences of the speaker, and can give new angles to consider. It's a discovery process for all parties, and helps everyone make more educated decisions and understand the people around them.
Political parties are supposed to enhance this affect - not hinder it - by arranging people by the way they view the world, the role of government, the nature of mankind, etc. They draw clear lines of how to direct discussion, not how to end it.
And yet, opinions, especially political opinions, end conversations all the time - especially when they involve magnificent blanket statements like the lunch stranger's.
That's what blanket statements by narrow-minded individuals always do - they reveal the mental handicap of the speaker who tries to defame the entire opposition based on a difference of opinion. The attitude isn't, 'this is what I believe,' it's 'I'm right, so you must be wrong,' halting the discussion and defeating the purpose of sharing the comment at all. Suddenly, party affiliation or disagreement is a battle line that separates the enlightened from the insane.
Comments like that don't add to a productive discourse; they throw a wrench in the gears and bring any sort of progress to a screeching halt. And while the speaker may have had the last word, he or she also just had their last ounce of credibility stripped by killing a conversation, refusing to look at another view and driving their narrow-minded head right into a wall.
But my fellow terrace eaters went a step further. Not only did they end the conversation and separate the right from the wrong, they used their personal beliefs about party affiliation to separate the sheep from the goats. Assessing anyone's value in the Church by their personal political beliefs is wrong. It's contrary to Church doctrine in several ways and goes directly against numerous statements by prophets and apostles. It doesn't show you're righteous, it shows you're judgmental.
Wednesday's lunch experience was a pathetic commentary on human stupidity presented as confident and educated ideas. The minute personal opinions distinguish winners and losers, the value of those opinions evaporates. The entire goal of party affiliation as a means of discussion or intelligent debate crumbles. Because with opinions like that, there can be no alternatives. No recognition of the value of other people's ideas, no room for discussion and debate, no healthy exchange. Nothing productive; just bold, senseless comments and the awkward, stupefied silence that follows.
To to my lunch acquaintances, and all other strongly opinionated individuals: Don't throw your opinion around like it's the next revealed truth. Don't expect everyone to concede you're the smartest, and don't kill perfectly healthy dialogue with mindless claims. Until you recognize the value of other people's ideas, even if you don't agree with them, you may as well talk to a mirror. Open yourself up to new people and ideas, and don't ever use your opinions as a conversation shattering, wicked-righteous distinction. Don't take yourself so seriously - no one else does.
Abigail Shaha is an Issues & Ideas Editor at The Daily Universe.