“Is opinion writing obsolete now, since everyone has their own already?” What a question to be pondering on a seemingly average Thursday morning, a question to which I can finally say no: it is not obsolete.
Thursday started like any other weekday. But as fate would have it, it turns out it was meant for some serious mental exercise on my part. Amidst the fervor of class registration and an impending Media Law exam that could spell disaster, myself and several other burgeoning Elon journalists crowded into an upstairs conference room in McEwen to meet with Maureen Dowd, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist.
Reputedly known for her sharp-edged and revelatory ruminations and witticisms, Dowd’s philosophy toward journalism involves slicing and dicing through veiled facts and mea culpas with expert precision to expose the true underbelly of the persona of those she profiles. Dowd eloquently relayed her thoughts on topics ranging from her coverage of the Anita Hill–Clarence Thomas hearings to the potentially negative effects of using semi-colons in column writing to us with the same degree of nonchalance one would normally find at a cocktail party.
But perhaps the most candid and enlightening advice she imparted to us dealt with her questioning the very relevance of her own profession.
“We’re in this French Revolution phase of everyone giving their opinions, which begs the question ‘Is opinion writing obsolete now, since everyone has their own already?’”
Upon hearing this journalistic brainteaser, I leaned back in my chair as a wave of imperceptible panic washed over me. I wondered if everything I had written up to now had been for naught. But after some time, I sat down to write this opinion column to assert my belief that opinion writing, while no less important to journalism today, is suffering because of the shrinking margin of informed columnists and citizens to uninformed ones.
This question speaks volumes, whether you choose to entertain the notion or not. We are currently living in a Renaissance-like era of information sharing with unparalleled access to data. But despite our proximity to knowledge, we manage to exist simultaneously in an era reminiscent of the Dark Ages when it comes to the civil exchange of informed and respectful opinions.
Opinion writing matters a great deal to journalism and to society. In the midst of this perpetual firestorm of information that currently engulfs our society, we find ourselves in a scenario where we are able to look to informed opinions in order to accrue some of our non-essential information.
Writing an opinion column is an imprecise art. I am eons away from mastering it myself. Some columns are reliant on facts, professional knowledge and anecdotal life experience, while others project nothing except sophomoric ignorance through statements laden with shock value. The latter are usually labeled to be “lobbing smack from the cheap seats,” as fictional news anchor Will McAvoy said in (former Dowd beau) Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show “The Newsroom.”
Basically, everyone has an opinion, but far too few of them can be considered educated. And despite my distaste for the consistent supply of questionably informed sentiments and opinions put forth by American citizens, I believe them to be important to the overall practice of opinion writing.
Having differing opinions, regardless of their philosophical depth or factual basis, is what polarizes our society in a way that is necessary for our survival. Symmetry of belief is not how our society was created, nor what has allowed it to continue to thrive.
Let me be clear when I say we cannot allow others to determine our beliefs for us. But from time to time, it is OK to accept the words and thoughts of others if they coincide with your own. Simply put, it’s OK to rely someone else’s opinion every once in a while.
So thank you, Ms. Dowd. Thank you for the mental exercise. You made an average Thursday just a tad more stimulating.