Dangers of the Blogsphere

Sure, there is a risk of losing too much time reading and writing blogs, but that doesn't concern me. I can just suck it from other time-wasting activities. OK, that's taken care of. Still, there are problems that have recently come to my attention, and I would like to air those out here.

Everyone with access to an internet connection, and most libraries offer this now in the United States and other industrial countries, can say whatever they think, feel, or believe. The result is the most democratic form of communication and idea exchange ever to manifest on this planet. Bravo! Here's the problem. We are dealing with passion; rarely is fact the overriding force behind blogging.

The problem gets deeper in that we do not all share the same views, though it would be a boring world indeed if we did. What I may think, feel, or believe, insofar as what comes up in my blog, may offend others. For that I make no apology. On the other hand, many bloggers look around at the work of their fellow bloggers, and I am no exception. I comment where I have something to say, be it in support, in opposition, or by way of correction. In doing so, I may offend, and for that I make no apology.

Still, there are lines, and we (most of us, anyway) do live in societies that recognize individual thought and feeling. I am not immune to the impulse to respond with sarcasm when my back is up, and I have done so. Insofar as I may make errors in fact or judgement, I do apologize. But that is where is stops. I welcome comments and emails on what I write, both here and in response to other blogs. I encourage those who believe that I have done wrong to say so, for that is how we move forward as civilized beings. I ask only this: recognize the dangers everyone faces in the blogsphere.

We come from different backgrounds and have access only to the information others give us or that we could reasonably be expected to discover on our own. No amount of ad hominem vitriol will ever deliver fact, the one things we most sorely lack most times out here in the blogsphere.