A Comment on a Comment

I am fairly new to blogging but tonight I am going to run right up to the edge of that Blogger Bear Pit and I may just find myself pushed over the edge by the time this blog is finished.  However, as many pointed out to Al (The Bayfield Bunch) on his post last night, the blog belongs to the writer and the writer gets to decide what to say.  Now, one thing I don’t know is the etiquette of quoting comments from other blogs so if I have offended here let me apologize in advance.  If there is some unwritten rule about this, let me know and I won’t do it again.  But I am going to do it this time.

I didn’t leave a comment on Al’s blog as I thought he had plenty of food for thought.  I did however read all of the comments which were left and I just have to comment on one of the comments…if that makes any sense.  What I have to say was too long and perhaps a bit too opinionated to leave on someone else’s blog so I decided to use it as my topic for tonight.

First of all, I applaud Al’s decision to leave the anonymous comments in.  Like someone said, everyone has an opinion.  I appreciate the technical aspects of Al’s photography and I happen to like his flower pictures, his bird pictures, his ongoing war with the black squirrel, and I love that he still posts photos of Max and Checkers from time to time.  Just because a pet is gone is no reason to not remember them.  It’s not like you just throw them away like yesterday’s garbage.

I think there were some good comments and I hope Al finds the courage to move in the direction that is right for him and not for anyone else.  We write what we write because that is what is in our hearts.  And if we try to be someone who we are not, then our writing will also suffer.  I believe that is true for every blogger out there.  “To thine own self, be true.”

It was one of the anonymous comments that got me thinking and wanting to address what was said.  Part of what was said by Anonymous is quoted below….understand this is not the entire quote, it is just what I wish to direct my thoughts towards.

“I am about to go on the road and one of my concerns is finding like minded people to meet in my travels. So far, I have subscribed to 50 RSS feeds, and to be honest, I am pretty tired of looking at pictures of flowers all the time. There is a pretty heavy slant on those who are overly religious, overly republican, and in general, not much like me.”

And further the same commenter states,

“If I agree with your writing, more than likely, I will also agree with who your friends are, and find your blogroll links to friends, who I would also agree with.”

I have no argument with this writer’s “right” to say whatever he wants to.  I just happen to have a different slant on the matter.  Some of what he said, which I did not quote here,  was good advice.  However, maybe I am missing something.  If we all are only reading the blogs we always agree with and are seeking out only like minded souls to befriend then where is the opportunity for growth?

Anonymous states that those who are overly religious, or overly republican are not like him and infers that those are people he would like to avoid.  Well, I am a Christian – although I would not call myself religious by any means.  I was a republican for many years but am not sure I still wish to be labeled as such.  I will stand up and say I am a conservative though (whatever that means nowadays!!).

But I do not wish to cloister myself with only Christians or only be friends with conservatives.  Where is the challenge in that?  How do you open your mind to new ideas and learn new things if you only surround yourself with clones of yourself?  How do you pass on your own ideas if everyone you meet already agrees with you?  

I welcome a respectful discussion of differing ideas.  I am not a lesbian but I have lesbian friends.  I am not a democrat but I have friends who are.  I am not a liberal but I won’t hate you if that is how you think.  I do not automatically cut people from my life because they are atheists, or Buddhists, or any other “ist” that is out there.  I am glad life does not have a “delete” key with which to exclude people from my life.

The common ground that I hope to find on these blog networks are those who love to travel, love life, and are not afraid of being challenged.  If you are courageous enough to get out there and go places that others may not wish to go, if you are willing to live a lifestyle that some may find strange  (or worse!), then why would you want to limit your acquaintances to only those who think like you do?  It is not the disagreements that cause problems, it is the INTOLERANCE for those differences of opinions that creates friction. 

So bring it on.  We all probably have a circle of friends we feel closer to due to our shared beliefs and value systems, but I want to meet and talk with whoever happens to cross my pathway.  I won’t judge you for your lifestyle and I hope that courtesy is reciprocated.  I won’t judge you for what you write or don’t write in your blog and I hope you will do likewise. 

So did I fall into the bear pit with this one?  Will anyone throw me the rope?