"Great Freedom, Great Responsibility"

Today I'm doing something completely different; today I'm commenting on internet blogs in general.

I love the first amendment, it is great to live in a nation where anybody can speak out on virtually any subject or cause and the only consequence of that is listening to those who don't agree with you. This is a small price to pay to be heard. I have a regular commenter on this blog who regularly disagrees with me. He is respectful and well spoken in his criticism; I appreciate this. We will probably never agree on any political issue, yet I'm sure we will agree on the value of a system that allows for the free exchange of ideas.

As I said my friend is respectful and well spoken; this makes all the difference in the world when one is trying to make a point or issuing a criticism. Obviously people are passionate about certain subjects and at times all people will get their "dander up". We all need to stop at times and take a breath before we speak or we are in danger of engaging in a conversation of diatribes and epithets that will prove nothing but ignorance and discourtesy.

The freedom we enjoy on the internet is a wonderful thing, it opens our ability to communicate with everyone within "earshot". With this great freedom comes responsibility. Any of us engaging in this forum needs to be educated in what we believe, and we must also exercise good judgement and decorum in our demeanor when addressing anyone, regardless of their beliefs.

We are living in stressful times, our nation seems to be polarized as never before. There will always be differing opinions in America, thank God for that! Although my friend and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum politically I'm thankful we live in a place where each of us can speak without fear.

My message today is this, appreciate each other, respect each other, enjoy each other for our differences as well as our similarities. Remember we are all Americans; respect each others freedoms!