2.12.2008

Vitriol

It's odd...in all my years of on-and-off blogging, I've always had one thing common to all my sites - a healthy dose of vitriol and bile. Suddenly, I find it unsatisfying to get into arguments over points that, in the end, are just my opinion vs. theirs. I'm not a relativist, but I do believe that people hold their opinions dear, use them to define themselves, and become very, very scared if someone challenges those ideas. I could quote a hundred sources, obscure and well-known, and my opponent(s) in the debate will just counter with ideas that support what they say. It is rare to find the person who can debate with a truly open mind. As a result, I find myself, lately, associating only with those who share my opinions, or those who really are willing to listen and adjust what they believe based on my arguments.

I'm not sure anyone will actually read this. There are so many blogs out there these days, and I'm just one of...well, not counting the splogs and marketing failures, let's say millions. Maybe not. I don't really know, but that isn't the point here. I need a space where I'm not confronted with vitriol and hatred just for trying to open people's minds or challenging what they believe.

I guess I'm a skeptic in the Classical sense...believing nothing till it is proven to me, and assuming that even if it's been proven, it hasn't really been proven. Perhaps, in some ways, this is a bad thing. It keeps me from just sitting back and enjoying what life hands me.

Though if life handed me something more than lemons, maybe I wouldn't have to spend so much energy making lemonade. No, I'm not being negative. I'm actually quite enthused about life right now, and things do seem to be going my way for once. Though I'm fairly convinced it's just a mischievous sprite or god deciding to keep me off-balance by making things go well.

See? Skeptic.

I guess I can go from here into a bit about my comment policy (not that I expect any, I don't think people will be reading this often): I reserve the right to delete any comments that are hateful, bigoted, violent, or spam. If they are threatening, I may report them to authorities for appropriate action. I also reserve the right to edit your comment if you're an idiot, and tag you as an idiot for future readers to learn from. Don't be an idiot.

I guess I should throw a disclaimer in as well.

My opinions and thoughts are my own, and do not represent the company I work for, nor my co-workers, nor my friends and family. Hell, I think most of them would disagree with what I have to say. I am not paid for this (yet) and receive no monies or other compensation for reviewing books, wine, or other products, though I wouldn't turn down compensation either. Please note that all writings here belong to me (unless otherwise noted) and my permission MUST be received before re-posting anything in large part or in it's entirety, unless you are just responding and need to quote relevant sections. If I find any of my writings being reproduced without my name attached, I will take whatever action necessary.

There we go. I think that does it.

No comments: