Totally agree that everyone has opinions about everything. I just miss the good old days when (most) people kept their mouths shut concerning subjects they were completely ignorant about. Or they took the time and learned about that which they wanted to discuss. Or, at the very least, they were capable and willing to censor themselves accordingly wherever their personal knowledge peaked.

And to be clear (because I wasn’t), my comment in the context of the OP was more directed at those in the “information” business than at the typical layperson. I feel like journalists used to have limits and standards about what they would or would not report, and how they would do that.

Those who editorialized did so about subjects they were well-studied in.

It’s possible I’m romanticizing the past a little.

Maybe.

Regarding the Internet, I have mixed feelings. I feel so blessed to have such a wealth of information at my fingertips. Before, the closest I ever came to this was reading through our entire Encyclopedia Britannica set as a kid. And the information in there was totally static. I love that the Internet is a living, breathing monster that adapts to every new bit of information discovered in real time.

So, of course, that has to have a downside. And the downside is exactly the same as the upside.