Opinions - Follow or Ignore

Opinions - Follow or Ignore

The path of non-violence, as a means to freedom, was an unprecedented tenet, when first propounded by Mahatma Gandhi.  The ubiquitous opinion of Gandhi’s time was quite the contrary -  a  path of violent resistance as demonstrated repeatedly by world history.  How could a simple Indian man, dressed in a hand-spun, cotton loin-cloth, possibly stand up to the militarily powerful British Empire? Yet Gandhi turned the impossible into a possible. Had Gandhi listened to the prevailing opinions of his time, would India have achieved such path-breaking liberation? Gandhi's example has moved and inspired others great leaders like Martin Luthur King Jr and Nelson Mandela.

The movers and shakers of present and past, the people we admire and respect, are often people who have chosen to walk a different path. It is not easy to ignore the opinions of others, which are oft deep-rooted in the conventional thinking of that time. Did the Wright Brothers adhere to the opinion that man cannot fly? Did Edison give up on his lightbulb and other ground breaking inventions? The mind has to be free from and not influenced by opinion. A free mind is more open to the idea of other possibilities, which automatically creates opportunities, which in turn leads to creativity and discovery. 

Galileo’s heliocentric views was condemned by the Roman Catholic church. A vast majority of the philosophers of his time subscribed to the geocentric theory – that that earth was the center of the universe. They even denounced him to the Spanish Inquisition. Yet Stephen Hawking says of him, “Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science.” 

Similarly, Hippasus was drowned for proving root two. He is credited for the discovery of Irrational Numbers. Pythagoreans of his time was of the opinion that all numbers could be expressed as the ratio of integers. The very notion of the existence of Irrational Numbers was such a shock that Hippasus was drowned. 

The character of Atticus Finch, in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” defies the racist opinions of his town, and becomes the defense attorney of a black man. He does this despite possible repercussions to him and his family.   He is convinced that Tom Robinson is innocent and is not driven by the town’s opinion that dark skin equals criminal. Though an all-white jury convicts Tom in the story, the actions of Atticus eventually do help precipitate a shift in the town’s thinking.

A common opinion held by many slave-owners during the pre-civil war era was that the slave was ignorant because he was incapable of learning. Frederick Douglass defied popular opinion. His narrative helped people understand otherwise. It was the lack of access to an education and the way he was treated, that made the slave ignorant and not his genetic makeup.

Similarly, many well-meaning professionals sincerely adhere to misconceptions. A little more than two decades ago, it was believed that all kids with the diagnosis of Autism would eventually be institutionalized. Parents were advised to send away their child before they grew attached to a child who could not return their affection , emote, be capable of rational thought or even be capable of any meaningful learning. It took individuals like the late Dr Bernard Rimland to start the shift away from this absolutely horrific travesty. The right combination of therapies and treatments can and has made the lives of the affected individuals more meaningful and for many it has been a road to becoming productive members of society.  

We live in a world where we are bombarded with opinions, yet the mind should not be swayed by them or be influenced by them. Opinions are often influenced by the thinking of the influencial and powerful individuals of the time. But who is to say that might must translate to right. It takes courage and conviction to not blindly follow the herd. 

This is not to say that all opinion is bad. Opinions can be like the tranquil sea, which brings about good fishing. It can also be like the tsunami which sweeps up everything in its path. The human mind is however, capable of the power of discriminating between good and bad opinion, and ferreting out the bad influences and opinions. We need to be open to the idea of possibilities instead of blindly riding the wave of opinion. This mental discrimination is what will put us on the road to a productive and a satisfying life.