Say It Loud, Say It Clear.

Do you have a thought?
Do you have an opinion?
Are you one who boldly shares your thoughts and opinions or do you temper them because someone might be offended? Have you gone (hack cough ahem) PC like the majority? Or do you express what ever is inspired from within?

I know this guy, yea, "I have this friend" who's all the time stirring up some controversy or other. He posts stuff on face book about politics, religion, spirituality, and things of this nature that most of us are hesitant to engage over.
I applaud his bravery. I admire his audacity and ability to spark intelligent debate.
He is rather intelligent and very respectful in his postings. He welcomes the opposing viewpoint without any contempt.

Even though we often disagree, (dear friend, there IS a God, She DOES adore you and I do lean a bit further to the right of center than you)his posts and musings often cause me to think, rethink, and examine my own convictions. Is this such a bad thing? Some don't see it that way. They get very upset, even a bit huffy once the nerve has been struck.

My question here is, why does it need to be offensive when someone has thoughts and belief systems differing from our own? Once my own life experience coupled with my own research has formed in me a thought process, moral compass etc. someone else's differing opinion can only do one thing.
That is to cause me to compare and examine my own. This will yield one of two results. I will either acquiesce to a new thought resulting in my own growth and further development or my convictions will be affirmed.
Sounds like a win win to me.

When the nerve gets struck, that is always, I mean inVARiably, my cue to examine what the heck is going on. When something resonates strongly for positive or negative, I need to check it out. I don't need (though sometimes I do) to get huffy or offended about it.

There's really no right or wrong here. There is only universal truth. That my friends, is so large, so vast, and so infinitesimal all at the same time that in our human condition we each only see pieces of it at a time. Indeed it's like three blind men looking at an elephant. One feels ears, one feels a trunk, the other a tail. All are correct. None are wrong. They are just seeing pieces of the whole.

So, go ahead. Tell me what's on your mind. Don't go vanilla. Sing your song out loud like the cardinals do from the top of the trees. Don't worry that I may not agree, but don't mind either. It's just that I may have not made my way around to that part of the elephant yet.