A gentle suggestion
I've noticed lately that there has been a lot of political discussion here lately which is understandable since the elections are getting close and there's a lot of strong feeling about the issues facing us. I have developed the habit of not getting involved in political discussions because I have a bad habit of ******g everyone off be they Republican or Democrat!! With that said, let me proceed to probably **** you all off!!
I have found that political discussions can cause major grief and hard feelings among even the closest of friends. I'd like to think that we "Marchers" have become friends over the last few years. We have shared lots of joy and sorrow; success and failure and counted on one another to get over the rough spots. We also are a very diverse group of people from all over the country and all walks of life who are sharing this WLS journey. While I personally don't let a person's political views affect my opinion of them, I am concerned that too much political commentary may alienate some our friends on this board and maybe even drive them away. Since this is a group support board, I would hate to see problems caused by an "Off Topic" issue.
Please don't get me wrong my friends, I'm not trying to stifle free speech or eliminate off-topic discussions. That would make things pretty boring and is not my intention at all. I would just like to suggest that on issues that people tend to get passionate about, that we tread carefully and think about the fact that the other guy's opinion has validity too!! One of the downsides of the Internet is that the printed word is easy to misinterpret without the frame of reference of watching the speaker's facial expressions and hearing his or her tone of voice. I haven't read anything here that is offensive or angry, but I worry that things could get hot and heavy if we aren't careful. Just a little food for thought and I hope that you take this in the spirit it was given...... FRIENDSHIP!!!!
Mike
I knew that I should have gone to bed for a while before turning on the computer!!
Let me back up a bit. I worked all day Thursday and went home for a few hours and then came back out and worked all night. I returned home late this morning having worked 16 out of the last 24 hours. During the day yesterday, I just about had to physically restrain a couple of co-workers who let a political discussion escalate into a near brawl. This was the genesis of my post to all of you. When I read your reply, my reaction was "Why is Maureen mocking me like this?". Now, having had the benefit of a few hours' sleep, I realize that I totally over re-acted.
I'm sorry about the "Sleepy Drama Queen Act".......maybe I should change that to "Drama King" since I don't want to send the wrong gender message. Anyway.....I violated one of my own cardinal rules: "Please engage brain before operating mouth (or keyboard in this case)"!!
I've learned a big lesson here and will try not to repeat this mistake.
Please forgive my outburst people and especially you Maureen!
Mike
Perhaps this is easy for me to say because I am such a middle of the road person when it comes to this stuff. Some people believe everything they hear from both sides of thhe fence. I do not.
Take care and thanks!
Joanie
having said that--i am only going to say
PLEASE VOTE
it is your responsibilty-even if your choice is not mine--exercise your responsibilty and thank our stars and the Lord above for the right to vote!!( oh and my gggggg grandmother's neice !!! she was the original suffragette!!)
and remember that if you don't vote it's like casting one for the other guy!!!
thank you , thank you very much( that's an Elvis impersonation since you are reading this on the internet!!!) from one of the 47 million uninsured Americans!!!!!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White
You're right Mike. I guess i've been around here so long that I feel close enough to everyone here to think that they won't hold it against me if I don't agree with them. As I would never hold it against anyone that loves Palin or McCain or Obama or BIden for whatever reason. I hope we are all friends enough to respect each other's opinions. I guess because this is such an important time and i just love to chit chat about it amongst friends. But you're right... its a touchy subject for some. I hope I didn't make you angry. You wouldn't **** me off MIkey. 
I'd proabaly giggle if you let out the nasty. But thats me, I'm lighthearted most of the time. Some of us here are a bit more sensitive and youre right...I would never want to drive anyone away due to my opinions and hope I didn't do that!
And with that I say this: Whomever you support...cudos for being passionate enough, whether it be for McCain/Palin or for Obama/Biden. Just vote. In the end, who the heck knows for sure who would be the right choice. Love all you guys and hope I didn't offend anyone! ((hugs!))
