"Have a definite opinion"
About this Quote
“Have a definite opinion” reads like a self-help aphorism until you remember who’s saying it: William Safire, the conservative columnist who made a career out of turning politics and language into blood sport with manners. The line is a command, not a suggestion. In Safire’s world, the great sin isn’t being wrong; it’s being mushy. Indecision is intellectual cowardice dressed up as nuance.
The intent is partly practical. A columnist can’t file “on the one hand” before deadline. A speechwriter can’t move an audience with a mood board. Safire’s imperative is advice for making public language work: clarity creates gravity. A “definite opinion” gives your prose a spine; it forces you to choose verbs that land, arguments that commit, and sentences that don’t apologize for existing.
The subtext is more combative. Having an opinion isn’t just about private belief; it’s about taking a position in the arena, accepting that you’ll be challenged, caricatured, and sometimes disproven. Safire’s own signature move was to argue with relish, then argue about the words used to argue. “Definite” signals that you should be legible enough to be contested.
Context matters: late-20th-century American media rewarded strong takes, and Safire helped build that ecosystem. Read today, the line doubles as a warning label. Certainty is a tool, not a virtue. Safire is reminding you to commit so you can be understood, but he’s also handing you the same weapon that, in less careful hands, becomes punditry’s favorite blunt instrument.
The intent is partly practical. A columnist can’t file “on the one hand” before deadline. A speechwriter can’t move an audience with a mood board. Safire’s imperative is advice for making public language work: clarity creates gravity. A “definite opinion” gives your prose a spine; it forces you to choose verbs that land, arguments that commit, and sentences that don’t apologize for existing.
The subtext is more combative. Having an opinion isn’t just about private belief; it’s about taking a position in the arena, accepting that you’ll be challenged, caricatured, and sometimes disproven. Safire’s own signature move was to argue with relish, then argue about the words used to argue. “Definite” signals that you should be legible enough to be contested.
Context matters: late-20th-century American media rewarded strong takes, and Safire helped build that ecosystem. Read today, the line doubles as a warning label. Certainty is a tool, not a virtue. Safire is reminding you to commit so you can be understood, but he’s also handing you the same weapon that, in less careful hands, becomes punditry’s favorite blunt instrument.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
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