This is a post I've been meaning to write for a week, but can't seem to find the time. Thanks to Jacob for the comment that has spurred me on to get it written.
Have you ever heard of a chemical called Dihydrogen Monoxide? It's a very dangerous chemical, and can kill you if it's accidentally inhaled. It has been known to cause severe burns, it contributes to the Greenhouse Effect, and can kill you if you experience withdrawals. Please...take a moment to visit DHMO.org and then come back to finish reading this.
It could be a matter of life or death, and information about it may save your life, or the life of a loved one.
Ok, so either you've followed my advice and read it, or you already know that DHMO is more often chemically referred to as H2O.
So, why am I writing this? Because I know that looking at any issue from one point of view, and not looking to see why anyone would disagree with you is dangerous. Any topic on the face of the planet can be twisted into something it's not, and not looking to see what the person on the other side sees can leave you blind. Ignorance is no excuse.
Many of the things I post about on my blog are things that I have only looked at from one point of view, and I know it. Part of why I post is that if someone disagrees with me, it's a great opportunity to learn something new. I'm very much against the war in Iraq, for example. If there were a realistic way for us to pull out today, I'd be all for it. I think we've made a big mistake, and continue to make a big mistake, going over there. But, I realize that pulling out totally and completely today would also be a mistake. Part of the reason I know that is through intelligent discussion with other people, who know different things than I, who know more than I, who know better than I. But, I also think that our government is supposed to be run by the people. And if I disagree with how it's being run, then I'm at fault for it, if I don't take a stand and do my part to change it, even if that part is nothing more than learning about the issue and voting for the right person, even if that part is as big as making a phone call to my congressman to see how he's voting. Anything easily within my power is also my responsibility. And so, I write about things the way I see them. We're in a digital age, where someone else can come along and show me something that might change my viewpoint, without leaving their chair. I wish everyone would find an issue that they care about, and then talk about it. How would I have ever known about Signing Statements, if not for the blogger who wrote of it before I did? What issues do my friends care about that I don't have a scrap of information on?
Too bad politics is such a taboo issue for so many people. Americans NEED to talk about it, even when they don't see eye to eye.
I just realized something else that goes along with this topic. CNN says of American Idol:
This is an alarming statement. Or maybe not. A better comparison would be the total number of voters in an election, since 63 million was the total number of voters for the show. I hope if I any of my viewpoints are as skewed as that statement was, that my friends would show me a fact or two to correct my thinking.
