I suppose I should have done this earlier, but I suppose I will just have to file this under better late than never!!
If
you know me well, you already know that I "swear like a truck driver"
in everyday conversation, so my language is unlikely to faze you. There
are those of you, however, who still read my posts but aren't
necessarily accustomed to my propensity for the profane. This disclaimer is for you.
I
swear a lot - you may have noticed - but I do not consider profanity to
always have a negative connotation. Instead, I associate profanity
more with emphasis than degradation, and I tend state my opinions rather
emphatically. So although I use them often, I know it takes more than
just a few f-bombs to substantiate any argument on any side of any
issue.
I will offend some of you at some point. While that is
certainly not my intention, it is inevitable and I accept that.
However, I would rather it happen because of the opinions themselves and
not how I chose to express them. Every person has the right to his or
her own opinion - myself included - so I would never under any
circumstances intentionally disrespect or disparage someone simply for
exercising that right. Please don't let my excessive swearing lead you
to believe that I don't respect differing opinions.
That being
said, it is true that I will disparage some people - particularly public
figures - but for different reasons. It's one thing for a person of
notoriety using his or her position to express an opinion on a public
stage, but it's quite another when a deliberate attempt is made to
manipulate the opinions of others using false and/or misleading
information solely for financial gain, without regard for the
consequences for everyone involved. If an opinion is genuine, there is
no need for deceit. But when someone is willing to prey on the good
nature of others by masquerading as a person with values, that is
someone for whom I have absolutely no respect and my disgust will be
evident. But if that person feigns to have values that coincide with
your own, it may feel as though an attack on them is an attack on you,
but I assure you it is not. I respect your right to hold your own
beliefs and opinions (as long as they are genuine and you are not a
sociopath concerned only with personal gains) even if I don't agree with
them.
Perhaps having an online blog (I hate that word, it sounds
so douchey) instead of a private diary means I do seek personal gains,
but if so, they are intellectual gains and not financial ones. I
genuinely want feedback, especially from people with opinions that
differ from my own. More than that, I want to know why you
believe what you do. I don't expect to change your mind and I don't
expect that you will change mine, but we aren't on different teams and
shouldn't be keeping score. Instead, we can exchange of ideas just for
the sake of understanding each other to keep us all grounded. Because
after all, outside of the blog-world, we're kind of all on the same
team...aren't we? :)
