How to voice an opinion

In the myth of King Midas, a competition is held between Apollo, the sun god who possesses a great gift for music, and Pan, a country god of lesser importance and lesser musical talent. When the mountain god Tmolus deems Apollo to be the master musician, King Midas, a spectator to the competition, argues that since he preferred Pan's country music, the decision was unjust. Midas is punished by Apollo for exercising "poor taste and even poorer judgement." Midas was a foolish king and by no means a musical scholar, with little understanding of the music of the gods. Despite this, he insisted that Tmolus was wrong, and that he was right.

Should an opinion be voiced if the speaker doesn't understand the subject, and if so, how?

Of course, everyone has a right to varied thought and opinion, and is welcome to share with others. Everyone does not, however, have the right to assume their own correctness. When opinions are voiced, opinions of others must be respected; sometimes we can even learn from the opinions of those more knowledgeable than ourselves. Midas, who pitted his own sentiments against those with experience and understanding of the nuances of music, would have been wiser to not weigh not only what he knew (the aesthetic appreciation of music) but also what he didn't know (technique, level of difficulty, mastery of an instrument) before formulating his opinion.

When one wishes to voice an opinion on a subject he knows little about, he must first distinguish whether or not there is merit to his opinion. In Midas' case, he found the country ditty that Pan played more pleasing to the ear. Instead of insisting that he was right and expecting universal acceptance of his opinion, he should have justified why he believed he was correct while also inviting others to share the reasons behind their own beliefs. It is a win-win situation; while expressing your sentiments to others and spurring them to consider your justifications, you also become more educated on the subject you are ignorant of by hearing the opinions of those more educated than you.