To Those Who Disagree...

Good!  While I want to share what I know with you, and I do want you to take action on that knowledge, the last thing I want is for you to accept what I say as fact without a single question.  I try to be as accurate as possible in the information I give you, but you should still "trust but verify."    And if you have compelling evidence that contradicts what I say, I would absolutely love to hear about it.  If you disagree, start a dialogue. That is really my ultimate goal - to start a dialogue.  I've never learned anything from someone who agrees with everything I say, and I never will.

Of course, the second-to-last thing I want is for you to read what I say, put a label on it, and walk away without thinking on it further.  My objective in writing these articles is to get the gears in your head turning.  Again, the best thing that could come of you reading what I write is the beginning of a dialogue.  Lets talk about it.  If you vehemently disagree, that's even better: Odds are, there's a good reason for it and I could learn something from you!

If you know me personally and are worried you might offend me - don't.  The only thing that offends me is the willful choice to remain ignorant; a reasonless dismissal of valid facts that are in plain view.  I am not stuck in my ways.  My opinions change with new information. If you have good information that challenges one of my views, there is a very good chance my opinion on the matter will change.  That being said: I do easily recognize propaganda and misinformation; be prepared for me to come back at you with another source - and the dialogue will have begun!  In the end, if we can't come to an agreement, I am perfectly capable of agreeing to disagree and remaining friends.

This, I feel, is one of the major problems our society now faces: People don't engage in meaningful dialogue anymore.  I understand the reason for it, but this reason is completely invalid in the light of day.  Most people think that the thoughts and beliefs they hold represent who or what they are at their core.  As such, anything that threatens those beliefs is immediately dismissed or violently attacked for fear that who they are will be somehow diminished by the new information.  This is the ego talking, and it couldn't be further from the truth.  Who and what you are is infinitely more than the level of thought, but that is a whole other article.

The bottom line is this: If you disagree with me, lets talk about it!