Ranting - opinions and constructed opinions

Do you get tired of the comment "it's all a matter of opinion?" Sometimes it's an attitude and comes out differently. It has become such a pervasive response, the sociologist in me is intrigued. Is there something else underlying this attitude that nothing is real, it's only what we think about it that counts? And if it's only what we think about it that counts and everybody has "their own opinion" then the conversation becomes rather circular. Don't you think?

Is this a reflection of the blurring between reality and fiction that seems to have happened in the media? You know, where the news becomes entertainment and entertainment apes the news? Where "reality TV" seems focused on people vomiting, or reenactments of police raids? Where a movie is seen as truth (such as "Wag the Dog") and news is now an opinion (such as O'Reilly Factor)? I even heard a pundit say in response to CBS pulling the Reagan mini-series something to the effect that "today's youth are so media savvy that they know not to believe anything they see on tv." I wish I thought that were true, but my faith in the "savviness" of the population - young or old, rich or poor, with college degrees or without - is at an all time low. I think that people believe what they hear and what they see and that is why manipulation and misinformation is such a BIG DEAL.

Which brings us to a strange conumdrum. If people think that everything is a matter of opinion, but are still broadly convinced by the media about what is "real," then does what is "real" become a concensus of opinion? Or does it become a matter of belief? The sociologist would say that this is a process of the construction of reality and the basis of consensus that shapes societies. If we look at this phenomenon through that lens, then the issue of power becomes critical. In other words, whose presentation of reality has valence?

But there is another weird dynamic at play here. That is that people (lots of them) believe the massaged facts to be true. Anyone who shares that perception of "truth" then knows what is real, but anyone who doesn't share that "truth" either has an "opinion" or is simply "uninformed."

This plays out in the most amazing ways. Global warming (or republican speak "climate change") is a simple matter of opinion. Whether there should be stronger or weaker environmental standards and controls is a matter of opinion. Whether the public has a right to a "safety net" in terms of health, housing, or food, is a matter of opinion. In large part it is a bogus argument based upon the idea that these things affect "other people" not the ones being asked. In other words, "it's a matter of opinion" can also be a stance of privilege.

It someone thinks that the effects of toxins in the environment is a matter of opinion, then ask them if they want to rent out their back yard as a toxic waste site. If someone thinks that a minimum wage is a matter of opinion ask them how they would feel about trying to raise a family, or their children trying to survive independently, on the current minimum wage. If people argue that the poor being poor is "their own damn fault," then ask them what should be done about the children of the poor? They had no choice and they too are part of our collective future. If someone is against abortion in any situation, ask them how many children they are willing to adopt and support ?

Somehow, when it comes down to a lot of issues, it is rarely a "matter of opinion." It is often a matter of privilege and it is often a matter of "comfort." By "comfort " I mean that it takes less responsibility to go along, and demands less change from the individual.

Part of the problem with the current "construction of reality" is that is so obviously not based on what is real. It is a manufacturing of reality - not a process of social concensus. However, it is clear that the hope is that the concensus that emerges will fit the manufacturers' purposes.