Mind Your Own Business

Mind your own...

How many times have we heard this admonition to keep our nose out of someone else’s affairs? Plenty. Some might think it too harsh or rude to say but, I think it is pretty darn good advice. As a general rule, I am of the opinion that what people think or what they do in their own personal life is none of my business. Our founding documents state that we are each endowed with unalienable rights… life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Basically… you live your life and I’ll live mine.

Have you heard the phrase, “that’s a matter of opinion?” Of course, you have. When we say this, we are usually referring to a subject, topic, or idea that does not have widespread or settled agreement. Gravity. The earth rotating and revolving around the sun. The square root of 64. These are not “matters of opinion.” These are considered facts. Truths.

Believe or not, people have differing opinions on many things, topics, and issues. Politics. Eating liver. Economic systems. Religion. Human behavior. Morality. Football. Some of these are relatively innocuous differences of opinion. Some of these topics, however, are considered serious enough to be written into our laws. Over the years, some of these laws have been changed or been eliminated. Opinions do change. Some see that as good… others see that as not.

One of the beauties of how our country is supposed to work is that we have the right to disagree. And we have the right to state those disagreements. We have the right to free speech… we have the right to protest (peacefully) and we have the right to not be forced to change our positions or opinions by coercion or force. We do have the ability to suggest, using persuasion and argument, how people should consider changing their opinion. We have the ability to try to vote in or out policy and law makers who do or do not share our personal view of various positions. We can disassociate and boycott to demonstrate our disagreement.

But, at the end of the day, another person’s opinion is none of our business. How another person wants to live their life is none of my business. But that works both ways. If it’s none of my business then don’t insist on making it my business. My opinion is my opinion. I can choose to agree with you or I can choose to disagree and simply tolerate your viewpoint or behavior. Hey, if you want to eat liver and onions, that’s fine. But don’t insist that I eat it or insist that I agree that it might taste good (it doesn’t btw.)

But it seems today that, when we differ, tolerance is no longer good enough. Tolerance, you see, is a “none of your business” mindset and behavior. Today, some insist on adherence to and agreement with certain topics, issues, theories, lifestyles, or behaviors. This is not a “mind your own business” mindset. This is opinion bullying. This is idea shaming. This is wrong.

Mind your own business is a two-edged sword. As it should be. Don’t agree with me? Good. Because what you think is none of my business.