I don’t even remember the question, but the answer will stay with me for a long time. For the rest of my life, I hope.

My husband and I were recently at a symposium of an organization he belongs to, and one of the sessions was a panel discussion featuring several of the convention’s presenters. In response to one question, a panelist began by saying, “I think that if more of us started our sentences with ‘I think that…,’ ‘It’s my opinion…,’ or ‘My research has led me to the conclusion that…,’ instead of claiming as fact things that haven’t been proven, we’d all be much better off.”

To that I say, “Amen!”

The symposium wasn’t focused on the government or media, but those were the first two groups that came to mind for me. When I was in college studying journalism, way back in the ’70s, we were constantly reminded about the importance of objectivity. Opinions belonged on the “Opinions” page, and nowhere else in the newspaper. Of course, this was also back when newspapers and the 6 or 10 o’clock news were the main sources of information, long before the internet, social media, and “influencers” were invented.

I cringe whenever I hear a politician—or anyone else, for that matter—say things like, “We know for a fact,” “It’s been proven” (when it actually hasn’t been), or “Everyone knows…” while promoting their own views, political or otherwise. Even worse is that so many people who present their opinions as irrefutable facts refuse to listen to any other opinion or point of view. And worst of all is that many seem to have gone from a mentality of “I’m right, so you’re wrong,” to “I’m right, so you’re stupid,” and all the way to “I’m right, and if you don’t agree, then you’re—pick one—a traitor, a communist, an idiot, or someone who should be wiped off the face of the earth.”

So it was a breath of fresh air to hear someone suggest that we begin our discussions and responses with words indicating that what we said next would be our own views and conclusions, which automatically acknowledged room for different ones.

I agree with that panelist that we’d all be much better off if it were so. But that’s just my opinion.

September 19, 2026
©Betty Liedtke, 2026

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