The dictionary definition of opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact. In other words, opinions are positions we take on things that we are uncertain about. We don’t have opinions about facts, right? Nobody has an opinion about gravity or the boiling point of water.
We have opinions about things like gun control, religion, immigration, marriage, divorce, airport security, global warming, racism, education, socialism, things of that nature. Oh, and life insurance. While it is a fact that the items on that list exist, that’s pretty much where the facts end.
Sometimes opinions formed in childhood stay with us a lifetime. Sometimes we have to delve deeply into a topic to form an opinion while other times we form one based on cursory or tangential knowledge of the topic. But no matter how we formed the opinion, we usually don’t change it. Sometimes, but not usually.
Let’s say you have an opinion on gun control. You’re not a fanatic one way or the other, but you have an opinion. Now let’s say my opinion is the opposite of yours. Do you think I could change your opinion? Probably not. Probably not even if I was very knowledgeable about the subject and presented my case in a calm and rational manner.
I bring this up because most people I meet have an opinion about life insurance. Not only do they have an opinion as to the concept in general, but very often about the types of life insurance, primarily term or whole life.
I find that most people’s opinion of it is not based on an in-depth study, but rather by relative or friend’s opinion or possibly a magazine article or even a blog post.
But even though they put little thought into forming the opinion, they will vigorously defend it. And that’s not only true regarding life insurance, but opinions on all topics.
I have had people tell me that they don’t believe in life insurance, which is akin to saying they don’t believe in gravity. I mean, it exists. They may not want to buy any, but that is quite different from not believing it exists.
The same thing holds true for the type of insurance. A person they respect said that one type is good and the other type isn’t, so without any independent corroboration, they accept and repeat those beliefs.
The thing is, we don’t need to have an opinion on every topic. I submit that to have an opinion on a topic that we have only a cursory knowledge of serves no purpose.
Confucius said “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.” Can we really afford to have our opinions based on ignorance?