I got an email from someone today who asked me (In so many words) where I got off "forcing" my beliefs and attitudes on other people. Now I will admit that this person severely confuzzled me. I really don't see how posting anything on a site where people have to actively search for and then actually read all the way through can be seen as forcing someone. Just for the sheer sake of argument and to give me something to write about, let's ignore the confusion and plunge straight ahead. It's more fun that way.
Before cable TV and 24 hour "news" programs that started giving us people like Beck and Hannity, if a madman hopped up on his soapbox in the middle of a park or sidewalk, the few people that saw him tended to ignore him. These folks tended to be grungy and a little ripe. The person espousing his views couldn't "force" his opinions on anyone. Hells if Glenn Beck had started his diatribes in 1810, no one would have looked twice at him.
These days, places like Faux News and all the others of it's ilk give "commentators" a soapbox seen by millions of people around the world and gives their comments and attitudes a sense of gravity because of the location. People become convinced that if they see it on one of these news channels, then it has to be news. Never mind that shows like Beck's aren't news, they are simply one man's beliefs and attitudes.
So with the dozens of cable newshows with segments like that on them and dozens more available from the web, I fail to see how my column which I freely admit is just my opinion. (Well researched and decently written but still just my opinion) I don't pretend to utter pronouncements from the Gods like the Oracle of Delphi, nor do I claim to have all the answers. These words and all the other non-fiction I write are simply me putting my thoughts out there to hopefully make someone go Hmmm.
What it boils down to is this. If you don't like what I write, don't read it. Hell, if you really don't like what I write put down your own words to dispute me. In the end (pun intended) opinions and it doesn't matter where they come from are like the old saying involving opinions and anuses. Right or wrong, everyone has one.
Rambles and Rants about pretty much everything ranging from Bad Service to Political Correctness. Being offensive and making people go "Hmmm" for the better part of two decades.
Shame on you for holding a gun to people's heads and forcing them to read your stuff. Wait. When did you get a gun and what caliber is it?
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