disclaimer of sorts...

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? :)