As the opinion editor, a position which seems superfluous to many at The Easterner, I begin my introduction with this quote for a myriad of reasons. For one, as the opinion editor it is my job to oversee the opinions of others. I do not base my opinion on a convoluted idea of my own beliefs. I strictly stay to the facts. As journalists, it is important to find the facts, and thus opine properly. Without this, we are simply wrong in our facts. This is both embarrassing and ignorant. Two, I believe that opinion is the dialectic of the universe unfolding; a very Hegelian view of things. Through well thought out opinions, we approach something closer to the truth. I don't believe in finding objective truth, only pursuing it to it's asymptotic edge, as that's as far as we'll ever get. Whereas I don't necessarily believe in "facts," I do believe that something is observationally more correct than something else. Therefore, opinion cannot be someone telling me that, for example, America is in debt because of social programs, Satan, and unions. If that person could tell me the history behind why unions came about in first place, what they were fighting for (and what they ultimately achieved); if they can explain to me Jesus' beliefs through his sayings; the Protestant work ethic; the military industrial complex; neoliberalism; neocolonialism; and possibly anything else that has brought us to this point in history, then we're talking opinion. Anything else is simply absurd:) While it is the duty of journalists to inform the public about what is new, it is also our duty to be informed in order to inform correctly. Armed with an understanding of history, our current plight, and a neverending curiosity, the job of the journalist—of any good communicator—is to write history now, and it is through the use of opinions that we get closer to the elusive truth.
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