Kurt Goodrich wrote, in part:
"We all like what we like and that's it. Tastes or opinions should not be mistaken as facts. They're just tastes or opinions. Nothing more."
Ah. This is like a red cape to a bull in my case.
One of the great problems we have--especially in the good ole' U-S-of-A--is that people in general, all too often, decide that their opinion is as good as anyone else's.
After all, it's *their* opinion.
This is demonstrably wrongheaded, as a moment's thoughtful consideration proves.
All opinions are NOT created equal. Far from it. This may seem perfectly obvious, but to judge from things like pop-culture or politics--naming two lively arenas of human debate more-or-less at random--this notion that all opinions are, in fact, equal, is dangerously common.
If Ernesto Colnago, or Brian Baylis, or Peter Weigle, state an opinion about framebuilding, I'm going to take what they say far more seriously than if the guy behind the counter at my LBS states an opinion on the same subject.
"So, Andrews, can you state the obvious more unequivocally?" you say? No, I can't. But...look around. In nearly every area of human endeavor there are deeply ignorant people delivering opinions on that area of endeavor. Opinions that are uninformed, ill-advised, and often just plain wrong.
So, yes, we may like what we like. But that tautology hardly exempts us from using our brains and our hearts to decide what's good, and what's not. And even to make harsh judgements about same. After all, the quality of our judgements usually determines the quality of our lives. Which is one reason why being non-judgemental ceases to be useful at a certain point.
Charles Andrews
Los Angeles