Feel Free to Disagree …

I am an opinionated guy. I don’t mind sharing my opinions either. I know that sometimes, possibly, maybe, perhaps, I hold the wrong opinion. This is why when I started up this blog I created a category named Feel Free to Disagree. I expect people to disagree with me from time to time. I would like to hear what they have to say, because I am one of those people that strives hard to keep an open mind. I have been known to change my opinions after a reasoned discussion or two (or many).

And even if I end up not changing my mind, I will still be better for having had the reasoned discussion. I personally think it is a very good thing that not everyone agrees with each other. As an example I was at one time very rabid in my opinion about gun control laws. After some reasoned discussion with a close friend I have abated my opinion a bit. I am still for gun control laws, but have backed off on some of the more stringent ones that just might infringe on our basic rights as US citizens. I still think that if one needs basic training, an operator’s license, and a registration for using a motor vehicle in public areas, that the same could and should hold true for public use of much deadlier guns.

But I am not talking about just politically charged issues here. I have placed the Feel Free to Disagree category on other things as well. My entertainment, fiction and nonfiction reviews are a prime examples. I know that at least two prominent Science Fiction authors have read this blog and my review of stories they have had published in Asimov’s SF. One left a comment. The other linked to my review.  Neither review was a glowing praise fest. I would hope that anyone that might disagree with my comments in any review would feel free to speak up. I am sure these authors would like even more feedback than just from me. I would love to hear from more authors. I know I am not perfect. Perhaps a poet could help me expand my knowledge of that art form. I would love to be able to give better reviews of poetry than I am able to do at present.

All of us carry our own baggage into any endeavor we undertake. Sometimes the baggage gets in the way of listening to reason, or understanding a particular point of view.  We all turn a blind eye to the little flaws in things that we like.  Sometimes we don’t notice a tree because it is part of a forest.  I personally wouldn’t mind examining a flaw or two (or many) in my thinking.  I would love to have a discussion on, say, the author of a fantasy novel that I reviewed recently. You know, that author that was over-hyped in the late 1970’s and touted as the next JRR Tolkien.

Please, Feel Free to Disagree. Just don’t be disagreeable while you are doing it. Okay?

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