Who's To Say?

I love a good debate, even a good, but fair, argument. I think that 'hitting below the belt' shows signs of lacking a good comeback, where one's intelligence has tested it's limits and has hit a brick wall. Then things can get ugly. But, taking that out of equation, I think debating issues stirs the emotions that make people think, gives them reason to speak up and encourages good communication.

People who agree with everything I say bring about a couple of things from me. One is boredom, and the next is distrust. If you agree with everything I say, you either have no opinion (or backbone), or you're lying.

Two of my oldest and best blog buddies, deb and lisa, are a couple of the most outspoken people I know. They're intelligent, passionate and caring women. We have many things in common, and many things we differ on. One thing we share is that we speak up. Many of you made your way over to wes' blog yesterday and that was a great little debate going on over there. I loved it, and as Wes pointed out, it never turned ugly. Emotions came out in the way of sarcasm, maybe, but that's not getting ugly. I love sarcasm. To me, it's a sign of intelligence and people who can't take sarcasm are simply too thin skinned. But, that's my opinion.
My best friend, Katy, always tells me what she thinks. She's never disguised her true feelings with me, even if I'd wanted her to sometimes, because she believes that what she had to say is what I needed to hear. At the time, it may have rubbed me a bit raw, but it gave me reason to think about what she said because I know she loves me and she's an honest and intelligent person. I can count on her, always, to be a voice of reason.

My first marriage was a roller coaster of a ride. It's highs were great and it's lows were devastating. But it was full of emotion, and I prefer that to boring. I hate boring. No opinion is boring. No discussion is boring. Never disagreeing is boring. Any of you that have talked to me in person, on the phone or on-line, know full well that I can have a complete argument with myself because I'll play both sides sometimes to see where I need to meet myself in the middle...compromise.

The subject for this post is that it's not only okay, but good, to disagree. Especially if it brings about discussing, debating and even a good, friendly argument. It gives one an outlet for their emotions. Harboring one's emotions is never a good thing. We've all seen the results of emotions that kept being buried until there was no more room and then they explode. That's a dangerous result of not expressing your opinion.

I appreciate differences.