Facts vs opinions

Based on true events.

I heard a conversation from my colleagues and they wanted me to participate in it. It was about an old movie.
"That movie was fantastic. The costumes were amazing. But I did not like the story. It was very puff. Why would a famous writer have difficulty in writing? Why could he not come up with ideas for his book?" One of my colleagues was furious with the filmmakers.
"I liked the film too. I find it believable. The writers may run out of ideas. It happens with all of us, our mind goes blank. It happens more frequently with people in creative fields," the other colleague explained her stand with reasonable explanation.
"No that is not realistic. I do not think it ever happens," the first colleague said firmly.
"It does happen. Writers block is a well documented phenomenon," another colleague pitched in.
"You guys are making things up for argument. This does not happen," the furious colleague was not ready to listen.
This was one of my latest exposures to the battle of facts vs opinions.

In the days of internet, the line between facts and opinions is blurring. Earlier the belief was "if it is written then it must be true". In the modern days, everything is written somewhere. Be it fact, fiction, or opinion - it will be documented somewhere. This is why we cannot consider every word to be true. But importantly people have lost the understanding of what is a fact and what is an opinion.

For starters, fact is proven while opinion is individualised. Opinion can be based on facts or personal belief. Fact can be challenged with evidence. Opinions can be challenged with facts. But what happens in the recent times is the facts are challenged because they are not supporting someone's belief system. Facts are challenged because someone feels uncomfortable with them. Many times people provide the justification "I do not like it, so I am not going to believe it". This is just the tip of iceberg.

The battle of facts vs opinions intesifies when there is a bigger issue at play (eg, health emergency, change in government policy). In such instances, people state their opinions as if they are facts - "I feel this, I like this, that is why this is correct, no matter if it is not as per what is real". Such opinionated people do not believe in evidences, they only believe their feelings.

In recent times, I have also seen that people with different opinions fight ruthlessly with each other and attacking rach other with verbal insults. It is really sad to see that opinions have taken promimance over the relationship. Difference of opinions has become one of the biggest reasons for disrupting relationships.

I miss the times when people would say "let's agree to disagree" and carry on with their lives. Unfortunately, today nobody wants to take this stance. Everybody wants their opinion to be considered as a "fact".

In many discussion I try to convey this message of "agree to disagree" but it is poorly received. I will still trying for it. Else we will be at a juncture where we would be distant from our near and dear ones because of the opinions and feelings.