The great “philosopher” Mick Jagger said it, “He can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me!” Obviously, the Rolling Stones were commenting on Madison Avenue’s effect on Western society, specifically the deception that to have a desired identity, to be “somebody”, I have to buy a certain product. Things become our identity. It’s endemic in media, of course. It’s even a historic part of the past millennium in the west, if not elsewhere. And the Stones have said it in such a powerful way. I don’t care very much for rock music, but I passionately like that lyric. It’s a philosophical gem that resonates with me powerfully.

Although the Brit rockers could not have foreseen this, I would extrapolate this sentiment out to the damage the Internet has done to society as well. The unbridled sensual appeal of ideas, however unqualified, has siloed individuals instead of bringing them together. When everyone is an expert, there are no experts—there is no room for them, no place for objectivism. When everyone’s idea is equal to another’s, then there is no expertise, no best practices, only chaos. Instead of community, the result is isolation, disparity, conflict. And not the least of all, very little resolution of problems. “Can’t get no satisfaction”, indeed.

As a lifelong passionate fan of 70s vintage Honda models, I can definitely be entrenched in my views, even inflexible, stubborn. Yup. That’s me. But—and not to excuse myself—it’s simply human nature. We are made up of experiences and conclusions and convictions, and the fact that we have them is the farthest possible thing from being bad, even if some of everyone’s beliefs are patently questionable. Having opinions therefore, despite the current trend to vilify this human aspect, is not objectionable. Opinions are not necessarily adversarial. They’re not evil, though the word “opinion” has such a connotation today. Though being “opinionated” can mean something else entirely, basically a euphemism for someone who is hard to get along with—opinions are in reality simply beliefs. And everyone has them and is entitled to them.

At the end of the day what counts, in the context of the marketplace of ideas, the space of human interaction, is how qualified those opinions are. The credentials behind them. Because divorcing ourselves from objectivity is the harmful thing, the damaging thing. Credentials, proven expertise, is how you separate truth from reality. Anything else is anarchy.

“Hey, hey, hey. That’s what I say.”