By: Dr. Synesio Lyra, Jr.
Perhaps the most frequent type of free entertainment available today, is experienced when you listen to other people’s unsolicited pronouncements in public places, without you being intrusive. The loud voices of such persons often proclaim their utter ignorance of the issues they are addressing or discussing.
You may be at a restaurant, waiting for your meal to arrive or already consuming it, or seated in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, standing in line at a bank, supermarket, or any other establishment, while certain individuals in front or behind you pontificate on topics they are commenting with friends, family, or even strangers. They may boast of knowledge, but in reality they only convey their incompetence and lack of sufficient knowledge.
All this occurs in the physical company of persons they’re chatting with, or through the loud, interminable cell phone conversations which tend to distract and annoy others in their proximity. Although verbose, so much of what is being said is what I’ve come to classify as eloquent non-sense. They may sound convincing, but whatever they affirm often amounts to nothing!
Too many people feel that their opinions are solid and meaningful, having a lot to contribute but, unless they fully know what they’re talking about, whatever they verbally offer is empty of meaning, even if others may believe what they’re hearing, but be wrongly impacted by what is being stated!
Obviously, this can be the case with any conversation, anytime, anywhere. Even among family members around a dinner table, certain issues may be considered where inadequate or even false information may be disseminated, leading the hearers astray! They may not intend to deceive but the ultimate effect can still be dangerous!
The main problem is not as much the erroneous nature of what is being proposed, but the arrogance of one on insisting on his or her opinion rather than allowing solid, factual information to prevail. People are entitled to their opinions on anything they believe, but these should never be dogmatically portrayed as the only way, or the final truth.