There Is Nothing Good or Bad but Thinking Makes It So

For many years this has been my favorite quotation.  It comes directly from Hamlet, a character in a play written by (another) great writer more than 400 years ago.

But let me be more specific.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

THE LOS ANGELES RAMS FOOTBALL TEAM

Are these “good” or “bad”?

I expect that the opinions of my readers will differ.  Some of you will say “good,” others will say “bad,” and still others may have no opinion either way.

But even if you agree with me that chocolate ice cream is “good,” we must realize that there is no book or human authority that offers the final word on the goodness or badness of chocolate ice cream or anything else.  What we are really saying is that we like chocolate ice cream, or that we dislike or don’t care about the Los Angeles Rams.  In short, “good” is just a shorthand way of saying, “I like it,” And “bad” is just a shorthand way of saying, “I don’t like it.”

Why is this distinction important?  Because it reminds us that our opinions are exactly that – opinions, and not statements of fact (other than the fact that we like or dislike something).  Facts are facts – in Los Angeles the sun will set today at 8:05 pm, whether you like the Rams or not.  The 8:05 time is not a guess.  It is reported as a fact on the internet, which I assume is correct and a fact we can all agree and rely on tonight.

In these days of political divisiveness, I believe it would help us to remember that our opinions are not eternal. Some of our opinions have probably even changed over the years.  My dad taught me, in the stock market, to be a contrary thinker – sell when others are buying and buy when everyone else seems to be selling.  That makes perfect sense to me, but obviously a majority of investors disagrees.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to take a moment to refrain from negative judgements of other people’s thoughts and feelings and agree that it’s okay for us to disagree?

Do we agree on that?

And as for dessert after dinner tonight — I vote for chocolate ice cream, but even there I wouldn’t expect the vote to be unanimous.  After all, some folks prefer vanilla.

And – you may find this difficult to believe – I have actually met a few folks who don’t care for ice cream at all.  It’s a matter of taste.

And that is a fact.

Alan