“Well, opinions are like a**holes. Everybody has one,” is a quote by Harry Callahan in the 1988 movie The Dead Pool. Another version of this quote is, “Well, opinions are like a**holes. Everybody has one and most of them stink,” and lastly the best selling author Simone Elkeles embellished the quote to read: “Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one, but they think each others’ stink.” While there are a few more versions of the same quote, I have opted to leave them out, since none of them serve to enlighten us any further than the snarky gems previously stated.
Fortunately, we live in a country that promotes debate and therefore encourages people to express their opinions. The idea of a “free press” is a fundamental necessity in regard to maintaining a democratic republic — considering that, without the ability to express a varied opinion, the public could easily be subjected to controlled and limited news restricted by government censorship.
Most newspapers have an Op-Ed page, which typically is the page that publishers use to voice their opinion and give commentary regarding such things as current affairs and government policy. Most major newspapers do present editorials from various sides of the political spectrum, but in the same way that the readers know the chosen affiliation of each writer, each paper is also known for the particular direction in which they lean. For example, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal all have the reputation of being conservative papers while a supposedly more liberal view on the world is expressed by periodicals such as the New York Times, Boston Globe and Washington Post. There’s nothing wrong with a paper identifying and expressing a particular point of view in its op-ed section, and it is even encouraged for the papers to present an opinion, because that is what constitutes a free press. However, when the beliefs of the publishers begin to show up in headlines and on the front pages of their papers, it is then that the objective journalistic integrity of the paper comes into question.
Television stations are guilty of subjective journalism as well, and while CNN might be considered middle of the road, other stations such as Fox News and MSNBC could be deemed polar opposites in how they report the news. The point being, if people are looking to validate their own opinions and beliefs, they can find some sort of appeasement at one station or the other. NPR and the Daily Show are considered to lean far left, with the far right then being represented by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Conspiracy aficionado Alex Jones is off the spectrum, but is easily misinterpreted to fit whatever platform is necessary and can be viewed as the fringe benefit. (I might add that these assessments are not backed up with anything other than my own opinion.)
True, False and Facebook
And this, of course, in my estimation, is a great opinion and — for the most part — an attitude that is agreed with by almost half of the Facebook users with whom I am in contact. Therein lies another problem, because social media delivers on a 24/7 basis to anyone with the access, opinions, news and commentary from friends, blogs and supposed news outlets. Fake news has become a problem since we tend to seek out the information that most handily verifies our own feelings and beliefs. This fake news can come from a random blog, a well-known blog, a Facebook opinion gone viral or even from mainstream media source that forgets to authenticate a story’s facts.
It certainly is a big hindrance in terms of trust when national security institutions such as the FBI and CIA release unsupported information. It also does not bode well for credibility when the president-elect tweets out unsubstantiated accusations and then is supported by his vice president-elect by saying it’s his right to express his opinion as president-elect of the United States. “I think one of the things that’s refreshing about our president-elect, and one of the reasons why I think he made such an incredible connection with people all across this country, is because he tells you what’s on his mind.” Yet sometimes, the things that are on someone’s mind are not necessarily rooted in fact.
I would venture to say that we do not live in a unique time regarding opinions and facts. It’s my opinion (irony intended) that politicians and news outlets have lied to the masses many times before, and that the general public has been swayed and influenced because of these very lies. We now live in a time when the amount of information that we receive is coming at us at a deleterious speed and, regardless of the source or veracity of said information, we neither have the time or energy to authenticate the facts. Without verification, this type of opinionated news — whether received by friends, blogs or news outlets — leaves us all in harm’s way and vulnerable to manipulation.
Oh Yeah… The Audio Part
There you have it, my opinion regarding opinions. Now, while we are on the subject of subjectivity, I would like to share some of my thoughts regarding audio that might be of interest. Recently, a new company coming into the market has revolutionized the industry. The claim is that it can now do away with speaker arrays by having individual microphones plugged directly into a power distro. This is accomplished with the female end of an XLR cable attached to the microphone and then cutting off the male end of the XLR cable and replacing it with a standard Edison connector. One of the inventors is quoted as saying, “Plug the microphone directly into the distro, and sound will just generate through the air.” Apparently, this technique can also be applied to wireless microphones without even plugging anything in — since they are wireless. As an engineer, it is my opinion that this will revolutionize the audio industry.
In other news, Live Nation has just announced that, from now on, no portion of the revenue generated by live acts playing in their venues will go to the artist, since it is a well-known fact that artists make all their money from sales of their recordings. Someone at Live Nation stated in a tweet, “It is our opinion that since Live Nation owns the venues, then they should be allowed to keep all the money.” It is also rumored that, in return for all the money collected at each show, Live Nation will provide every act with one meal, a canned soda and a medium-size deli tray.
In closing, I would like to point out that the editors at FRONT of HOUSE have made it clear to me that since I am a longtime contributor to the magazine, it is my right to express my opinions regardless of factual accuracy or coherence. They have also expressed — in no uncertain terms — that they find my lunacy refreshing. As expressed by an anonymous editor, “He definitely has one!”
