I was thinking about this a lot. How do you form your opinions? Are they based on what you see/hear/research?
If you hear somebody say something and regurgitate it in a conversation, then that is not your own opinion.
If you see a TV program, then use that as a basis for your information, then that is also not your opinion, because the data is biased, and compiled by somebody else.
So, to form a completely own opinion, do you do a lot of research online, read books, watch programs, talk to people, to make sure that you've covered the topic, from as many sources as possible?
Most of us probably do not exercise such great depth of research when we have something to say. Should we? Of course, it depends on the topic and genre of conversation. More often than not, though, I find that I do not have enough knowledge to give a comletely personal, informed opinion, so I say something that I've heard somewhere.
In one respect it seems ok to do so, otherwise many of us would keep saying that 'I do not know enough about the subject to give you an answer', but on the other hand, it is in this way that strong, unsupported opinions and rumours, such as the ones illuminated by the media get spread round. I was just reading a thread on the treatment on Muslim women, and saw the variety of opinions there. If I asked you about the state of Moscow life and treatment of Muscovites, what opinions would you give me?
Sorry for the rambling, it's just something that has been on my mind for a while.