The increasing gaps between differing sides of disagreements become ever more apparent as time goes on, though one agreement can generally be made regardless of your topic or bias—the agreement being that ignorance is unacceptable. The necessity to make informed decisions is greater than ever (not that such a necessity did ever not exist) simply due to the amount of information available to us on a day to day basis.

For example, news regarding the weather, recent local as well as global events, historical facts, personal opinions, and more are at a constant availability to us. However, with such an abundance of info to process in such short a time, surely we do not genuinely ponder on it so much as we blindly swallow it, adding to the heap of random facts stored away in our heads.

For example, if you are not familiar with the minutest details of the recent Supreme Court cases it is likely still that you at least are familiar with the issues. The issue of gay marriage and gay rights is one that is not new and sadly will not likely be resolved any time soon. Certainly I have my own opinions on such matters, but a particular stance regarding them is not what I wish to here propose. Regardless of which “side” you take, the important aspect is that the deciding factor is an informed one that has seen much contemplation. Simply knowing your own opinion on the status of gay couples is not enough—you also must be familiar with the opinions of others concerning it.

After all, it is these opinions which you either sympathize with or wish to see a change in, but without a genuine knowledge of the issue itself (including perhaps the biological and psychological realities at hand), the general opinions of the people, the Supreme Court cases themselves down to the fine print, your own opinion is virtually worthless. What good is an opinion if it lacks a firm grounding in the reality which it seeks to critique? It is blind and ignorant, and certainly unnecessarily fuels the fiery debates and clashing of viewpoints due to the lack of awareness of the other sides’ views, thus leading to a lack of at least being able to sympathize with the people whose views you disagree with.

The matter is one of simply remaining aware: everyone’s viewpoints are valid insofar as they are (hopefully) made from intelligent decision-making. However, this only occurs through the ascertainment of the proper knowledge concerning the topic at hand as well as a proper knowledge of the opposing viewpoints. For what good is it to state that your opinion is correct if you have no sympathy for the folks holding dissimilar views? Should not the aim of such opinions, of such cases like the ones made as of late, be to unify through reasonable opinions based in fact the majority (if not all)? The beauty of informed decisions is that they need not triumph through force if truly they are based in fact and sought out knowledge, for they have already become universal insofar as they are based in a common reality—and now they are capable of being discussed with others fairly, and now is when progress can actually be made.