He Said, She Said, Op Ed

She went to home economics just like all the other girls
Making chicken a la king and peanut butter swirls
But she knew in her heart there had to be something better somewhere
--Don Henley

Why are missives that appear in Op-Ed sections labeled opinion and not fact? Primarily because opinions are contestable.

For instance, opinion writers like this one can make claims about events (e.g., the first major wave of banking deregulation was done by the Reagan administration), or about cause and effect (e.g., no serious bank crackups from 1945 thru 1970s were due to a tightly regulated banking system) that don't have to be defended by data or by careful reason.

Were such claims submitted to intellectually honest scrutiny, they are unlikely to be viewed as valid.

As such, opinions tend to be easier to generate than more reasoned forms. Less work.

One reason why I'm not particularly fond of verbal debates is that they nearly always reflect battles of opinion. It is particularly difficult during conversation (at least for me) to have command over the thought process or facts necessary to justify claims in a valid manner.

Writing, however, puts claims to the test. Written claims become subject to self-scrutiny and to the scrutiny of others.

Well reasoned outlets are careful to admit only those writings that withstand intellectually honest review.

Op-ed outlets don't do this, which reduces their value to the critical thinker.