From my understanding, opinion is based on experience, not necessarily on fact or knowledge. Growing up in different environments, introductions to diverse religions or cultures, even various economic statuses, it all affects who we become.  

It is my objection then that differing opinions can simply be translated into differing experiences. We all have our own unique opinion just as we all have an individualized experience.

What fascinates me most is political opinion.

One of the most influential academic writings I have read during my educational career discusses the parallel between political view-points and personality traits.

Although human beings find comfort in some amount of conformity, many of the boxes society offers do not fit who we are well enough. For example, in American politics the dichotomy of the two-party system is an example of two boxes most people do not fit in well.   

Pew Research Center performed a study in 2012 that found that the polarization of partisan politics has surged in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama years. This seems evident considering the differences in the two men. If you consider the differences in Bush’s and Obama’s background, it hints at this idea of experience lending itself to political views.  

In another study in 2014, Pew Research Center reported that, “Today 92% of Republicans are to the right of the median Democrat, and 94% of Democrats are to the left of the median Republican.”  

So if it is my objection to claim that, “. . . the dichotomy of the two-party system is an example of two boxes most people do not fit in,” I must also explain that only 36.4 percent of United States eligible voters, voted in the 2014 mid-term election. The other 63.6 percent are individuals that do not fit into the two boxes American politics offers them.    

The lowest voter turnout in 70 years illustrates the diversity of today’s world. The two-party system is not satisfying enough to represent all Americans.

To wrap up this thought, it seems to me that the polarization of opinion is problematic. However, the increasing polarization in our country is not due to strongly opinionated individuals anymore than it is due to non-voters.

I believe that an educated opinion is a critical part of the voting process, but political voting merely takes opinion, not necessarily facts or knowledge.

I believe that we are shaped by the world far before we can even conceptualize shaping the world around us, but that does not mean we cannot shape it after experiencing it.