Privacy, it's a lovely illusion....

So perhaps you think I'm nutso for posting my personal views on a public blog. Perhaps you don't give a flying rats butt, and strangely find yourself back at my site anyhow. Either way, I find it funny when folks squack about how much I'm willing to post. Here's the thing: I'd say it to you in person, why not record it for my future embarrassment/amusement/entertainment?

See, the point of journaling (to me) is to record your thoughts for future reflection. Or to make them permanent in some fashion. Or to just get crap out that needs to be hashed. Rarely do I delete, remove, or otherwise pull things from the public forum. Simply put, I am who I am, and I'm not big on excuses or shirking from what I think. I'm happy to jump on the "dammit I live in America, and I like the implication that I have some form of Free Speech" box. I apologize if I hurt or create a wrong, fix the really important ones if I can. But for the most part, you won't find me regretting or retracting much. It's really just not ok unless someone changes my mind. And even then, I'm more likely to post the thought process of changing my mind than retracting or removing my thought.

So the concept of "oh no! Someone might read this!" is terribly funny to me. I can't help but smirk and think "duh" when folks freak out about someone reading their blog. Dumbass, if you were worried about privacy, why were you posting publicly? Or online at all? They make lovely blank books for people like you, go buy one. For the rest of us who are into exchanging ideas, discussing the universe, and hearing about the next random thing on the Internet - Rock on, my friends! I may not agree with you, I reserve the right to make my own judgments about your views, but I'll back up your right to post crap until your fingers bleed. Unless it's against the law, and then I'll refer you to one of my high priced friends to go argue your case for you.

Freedom to think is my personal soapbox - you have a right to your own personal thoughts on a matter. I reserve my right to disagree, but I'm more likely to respect folks who actually have a view they've thought about rather than just parroting whatever crap comes along. But if you like parroting crap and accept it's limitations, you go Sparky! Just don't pretend it's not public when you post online. Intelligence and forethought - rare virtues...