Okay, this time I am going to attack an argument. I have heard this argument countless times, and three of those times have been recent and aimed at me. the argument (if it could be called that) is "is that your opinion or are you just quoting someone else." now, the reason there is a . and not a ? is because it is implied that the question is already answered. the thing is the answer almost always has to be yes, but what is wrong with that?
a simple response is do you believe that the world is round? they will (hopefully) answer yes, in which case you may ask if they discovered that on there own? or are they merely taking the word of another.
there is nothing wrong with quoting others, or believing the same thing as someone else (including your parents).
people who use this sentence are implying that using another's opinion is wrong, the thing is that the only person who can honestly use this sentence is the first one who used it. all others are merely copying him or her.
using another person's quotes and ideas are not an evidence of weakness, far from it. anyone who has had to write an essay for school knows that they need quotes in it if they want it to be a good one. quotes, far from making your essay weaker, make your essay stronger, you get support from the quote, and respect from the reader for doing some research.
this is such a weak argument that just gets thrown around to try and shut down peoples opinions, dismissing them as pareting others and not thinking for themselves. the obvious problem being that no argument or opinion, even the one used to condemn such arguments, are original. there is nothing new under the sun.
God bless.
Dillon V.M. Richard.
