Opinion

Brian White lives in south Indre with his wife, too many moles and not enough guitars

BIAS BINDING

It’s been said that there are two kinds of fool: those who can't change their opinions and those who won't. I think I may be one of them although I can’t quite decide which. How often do you change your mind? Not about the small stuff, like what to wear or choosing between ‘Prime Minister’s Questions’ on the news channel or something more uplifting, like ‘When Brides Attack’ on ITV12. No, I mean the big topics – your bedrock principles, the convictions you stand for. Your opinions. It’s always tough to reassess and concede that someone else’s view might actually make more sense than our own. It carries the unsettling subtext what else might I be wrong about? Hence there is a seductive refuge in ‘don’t give me the facts, I’ve already made up my mind’. I’m not immune and admit to holding some non-negotiable views myself. Since you ask: I believe rich people should pay more tax. I believe the measure of a society is how it treats women; I believe the audience at BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing should be physically prevented from clapping along on the wrong beat. Rich people should pay more tax. You know, things like that. There is comfort in certainty and I’m always intrigued by what psychologists call ‘confirmation bias’. This is the tendency we have to be more willing to believe – or even to seek out - information which reinforces a view we already hold, while eschewing alternative points of view. Not me, obviously, my opinions are balanced and clearly beyond rational dispute. You might feel my standpoint suggests a liberal/leftie bias. And, it’s true, I have read and admired the Guardian newspaper for forty years, I’m a member of Republic UK, I knit my own Weetabix – all boxes ticked. But disputes over ‘left’ and ‘right’ leanings stupidly ignore the horrors which exist at the extremes of both. Friendships and co-operation thrive across political divides in all legislative bodies, a fact shamefully underreported in our polarised times. (You may know that these political markers originate here in France in 1789 when supporters of the king lined up on the right of the National Assembly, while the revolutionaries – acting for the people - sat on the left). Nowadays, public discourse is adversarial, everyone manning their own barricade. Opposing opinions are shouted down, branded ‘disloyal’ or even ‘treasonous.’ The UK tabloids tell their readers not only what happened but how furious they should feel about it. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York, US President George W. Bush declared, "Every nation now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." Anyone even querying this sweeping over-simplification was considered suspect. And what about people who express an opinion where none is required? Last January a BBC director stated that the network would be open to giving airtime to people whose opinion it is that the Earth is flat. Even minority viewpoints should be addressed, he said. Now I admire the BBC enormously but, call me a stickler, the shape of our planet is not something on which you can hold an ‘opinion’. If your belief is demonstrably –and provably - untrue, then it’s actually a delusion. While acknowledging that my confirmation bias is not at all constructive, I nonetheless avoid opinions the polar opposite of my own. Do I really want to hear a bigot ‘justifying’ his blind prejudice? Could I be persuaded that the civilised way to deal with terrified families adrift in a rubber dinghy is to threaten them with Royal Navy gunboats? Or that the Covid pandemic/vaccine (delete as appropriate) is all a plot/conspiracy /hoax (ditto). I won’t venture into this realm of the absurd. While many are fond of quoting Voltaire’s famous declaration, “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”, few remember the next bit, “unless you’re just spouting baseless claptrap”. Obviously, everyone is entitled to an opinion but there are simply too many flying about. Also, they’re mostly wrong. You might think me dogmatic but I’m sure you’re far too intelligent to disagree, (my mother used to terminate all arguments with this unbeatable flourish). So, am I steadfast in my thinking or simply intolerant? Strongly principled or just biased? Ultimately, it’s a matter of opinion. Let me know if you change your mind.

There is a seductive refuge in ‘don’t give me the facts, I’ve already made up my mind’