assignment: Does worrying too much about other people's opinions prevents us from seeing things clearly?
Before making choices, we often seek for other people's opinions. For example, when I decide to purchase online, I often refer to former customers' assessments first. However, because individuals often express their points to achieve certain goals, such ideas may fail to report the truth. Thus, it can be readily stated that people may find it difficult to discover the truth if they emphasize too much on other people's opinions. From US history, one can see how this statement proves to be true.
We can see the faults of excessive emphasis on other people's opinions in as early as colonial era. In early 16th century, 'captive narratives' , novels relating the story of survivors from Indian tribes' abductions, was very popular. These books characterized Native Americans as brutal and demanded an immediate expulsion of Indian tribes from colonies. Predictably, such misleading ideas convinced many innocuous people that Native Americans are evil and everything done to them are not immoral. However, they fail to see the truth about Native Americans. Far from being ruthless, brutal, native
Americans were very hospitable and only attacked potential intruders. In fact, 'captive narratives' just distorted native Americans' images to justify their authors' avarice to Indian territory. Had not those readers relied so much on author's opinion, they would have judged Native Americans more objectively.
'Yellow journalism' before the Spanish-American war also displays how misleading sometimes other people's opinions are. After Maine, an American battleship, exploded at Cuban coasts without known reasons, to engage more readers, newspaper publisher William Hearst,regardless of fact,vociferously accused Spanish of sinking Maine to provoke war against USA,with sensational headlines'our enemies split the warship Maine into two with an secret bomb'. As expected, such propanganda convinced many citizens that Spanish was looking for a war with USA and stirred widespread hostility against Spanish. However, had those readers considered more carefully, they would understand that Spanish never intended to fight with USA. Just two hour after Maine's explosion, Spanish governments dispatched officials to American ambassadors to show innocence. In effect, Hearst produced those reports only to seize more customers, rather than pursue journalistic truth, It is credulity to Hearst's opinions that hinder readers from clarifying truth.
In many cases like two above, other people's opinions prove to be wrong. Such things occusrs because these opinions are given to achieve unjustified purpose at the expanse of distortion.Hearst gave ideas to seize profits and 'captive narrative' to justify crimes. Thus, we can conclude that opinions given by others who have unjustified motives can hinder us from seeing things clearly.
Before making choices, we often seek for other people's opinions. For example, when I decide to purchase online, I often refer to former customers' assessments first. However, because individuals often express their points to achieve certain goals, such ideas may fail to report the truth. Thus, it can be readily stated that people may find it difficult to discover the truth if they emphasize too much on other people's opinions. From US history, one can see how this statement proves to be true.
We can see the faults of excessive emphasis on other people's opinions in as early as colonial era. In early 16th century, 'captive narratives' , novels relating the story of survivors from Indian tribes' abductions, was very popular. These books characterized Native Americans as brutal and demanded an immediate expulsion of Indian tribes from colonies. Predictably, such misleading ideas convinced many innocuous people that Native Americans are evil and everything done to them are not immoral. However, they fail to see the truth about Native Americans. Far from being ruthless, brutal, native
Americans were very hospitable and only attacked potential intruders. In fact, 'captive narratives' just distorted native Americans' images to justify their authors' avarice to Indian territory. Had not those readers relied so much on author's opinion, they would have judged Native Americans more objectively.
'Yellow journalism' before the Spanish-American war also displays how misleading sometimes other people's opinions are. After Maine, an American battleship, exploded at Cuban coasts without known reasons, to engage more readers, newspaper publisher William Hearst,regardless of fact,vociferously accused Spanish of sinking Maine to provoke war against USA,with sensational headlines'our enemies split the warship Maine into two with an secret bomb'. As expected, such propanganda convinced many citizens that Spanish was looking for a war with USA and stirred widespread hostility against Spanish. However, had those readers considered more carefully, they would understand that Spanish never intended to fight with USA. Just two hour after Maine's explosion, Spanish governments dispatched officials to American ambassadors to show innocence. In effect, Hearst produced those reports only to seize more customers, rather than pursue journalistic truth, It is credulity to Hearst's opinions that hinder readers from clarifying truth.
In many cases like two above, other people's opinions prove to be wrong. Such things occusrs because these opinions are given to achieve unjustified purpose at the expanse of distortion.Hearst gave ideas to seize profits and 'captive narrative' to justify crimes. Thus, we can conclude that opinions given by others who have unjustified motives can hinder us from seeing things clearly.
