The Editorial Strike: Why You Don’t Need an “Opinion” on Everything

I spend my days surrounded by opinions. In the op-ed section, everyone has a “take.” Everyone is a critic. Everyone has a 280-character solution to a 2,000-year-old problem. But after twenty years in the business, the most sophisticated thing I’ve learned to say is: “I don’t know enough about that to have an opinion.”

In a world that demands instant reactions, silence has become a high-end luxury.

1. The “Hot Take” Inflation
We are suffering from intellectual inflation. When everyone is shouting, the value of words drops to zero. We feel a strange, modern pressure to “check-in” on every global crisis, every celebrity feud, and every political shift.

But here’s a secret from the editor’s desk: If you react instantly, you are letting your emotions write your lead. A story written in the heat of the moment usually requires a correction the next morning.

2. The Power of “Wait and See”
In journalism, being “first” is great, but being “right” is better. If a breaking news story smells fishy, a good editor holds the front page. They wait for the second source.

Apply this to your personal life. You don’t have to join the digital lynch mob or the celebratory parade. You can choose to sit on the sidelines. Silence isn’t an absence of thought; it’s the presence of observation.

3. Curation is Not Creation
We’ve confused “sharing” with “thinking.” Reposting someone else’s clever graphic isn’t an intellectual act; it’s a signal.

The most interesting people I’ve interviewed don’t spend their time shouting into the void. They spend their time building, reading, and listening. They understand that your attention is your most valuable currency. Why are you spending it on things that don’t matter?