In My Opinion

“In my opinion”…

A phrase that is very overworked,

“This is how I see it”

And the relevant information skirts.

Bill Bullard was a politician

He would have known a lot of this

And perhaps in the American Senate

Many such opinions dismissed.

He too might have used the phrase

I guess from time to time

No doubt with an aim to impress

His opinion on someone’s mind.

It sounds particularly scholarly

But it really carries no weight

Unless of course the erudite speaker

Is a colossus from some state.

But both high and low I note

Use it with great emphasis

And so too the educated and otherwise

To show something one has missed.

It matters not the topic

Be it politics, religion or philosophy,

“In my opinion” is a clincher

Usually void of modesty.

It should put an end to the argument

It’s information coming to hand,

It’s like the ace in a pack of cards

It’s the pearl in the oyster clam.

“This is really how I see it

This is just my humble opinion,

I am not asking you to agree with me

After all I am not officialdom.”

“I don’t know much about the topic

I haven’t done much research

But I too have an opinion.”

It could be in parliament or at church.

I have an opinion about your opinion

And this is just my opinion,

Your opinion in my opinion

Lacks both understanding and reason.

In the final analysis my friend

Opinion is rather superficial,

It’s the lowest form of human knowledge

Whether it comes from a novice or official.

Opinion requires no accountability

And no understanding, Bill Bullard states,

So building upon someone’s opinion

Is really playing around with fate.

You had better know for yourself

By investigating the matter thoroughly

Then take my uninformed advice

And submit your findings guardedly.

An opinion is just what it is

An assumption, a feeling or speculation,

It may be the result of composite opinions

Or simply a person’s own suspicion.

I too have had my opinions

They have changed time and time again

And I have no doubt if you’d be honest

Your experience has been the same.

So spare me your opinion

Give me some hard facts instead,

Your opinion is I might be sleeping

But I might just be lying in bed.

One opinion is worth a hundred

They are like spinning top in mud,

However, this is just my opinion

If you can do better, you should.

Stewart Russell © March 2019

“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge.

It requires no accountability, no understanding.”

Bill Bullard