For those
of us lucky enough to live in countries where we have the right of "Freedom of
Speech" I wonder why merely disagreeing with someone's opinion or position on
any given subject actually makes us phobic? With the recent actions of the
current Administration giving us lots of cause for concern, those of us
who have commented on it publicly have been subject to mixed reviews.
Some people
agree fully and champion my commentary, most actually have given a positive
response. Some however have accused little Xanny G of being both unpatriotic,
un-American, and even Obama-phobic, but nothing could be further from the truth.
I was even accused of being racist this weekend for disagreeing with the POTUS,
but surely merely disagreeing does not make me any of the above?
If I am
totally honest it made me realize that I have indeed responded this way before
regarding several issues. I used to think that anyone who was not for gay
marriage was homophobic until I broke it down and found nothing could be further
from the truth. Whilst I am sure there are lots opposed to gay marriage that are
total homophobes, there are I am sure, a lot are not.
Because I
took the time to dialogue and have a level of civil discourse with those I
had termed as "phobic" I learned that the objections were in reference to same
sex marriage in Churches and the state of Holy Matrimony and not the Civil
Marriage as provided by the state, for most. Whist I think people should be
clearer, sometimes we have to clarify in order to be sure or we never grow as a
community.
Before I
left the Dem's and saw how deep the rabbit hole really went I would term every
objection to Obama's policies as either a clear objection to the man or
discrimination in some way or another. Of course it couldn't be just because the
policy was faulty and just like these "Xanderphobes" I deflected opinions I
disagreed with by creating reasoning for their objections, even though my
reasoning was even faulty.
The point
it actually becomes an issue is when people cannot simply agree to disagree, and
decide they want to either insult you or fight with you as they have nothing
better to do. I am sure I have responded in this way, pre-evolution, but because
I have evolved I do realize some people are beyond education and will not cast
my pearls before swine.
I have been
insulted, threatened, had death threats and all the negativity you can imagine
but I am still here, fighting the good fight. One thing I learned long ago is
that I am not here to be liked, although it is nice when you are. I am actually
here to make a difference and if I have to endure a level of negative
response in order to make a difference then so be it.
Speaking
out really costs in the long run, but surely it is better to be true to oneself
and say exactly how you feel rather than join the millions of other sheep who
follow blindly and toe the party line, even if they feel it is wrong. We get one
life and for me it is an imperative to make a difference and I hope that will be
my epitaph. Here lies Xander Gibb, he made a difference in this world.
Whether
or not you agree me is not the issue in this case, it is actually about being
true to myself and my beliefs. I may not agree with you and your perspectives in
every instance, but with dialogue and civil discourse I am sure we can find a
point to have a meeting of minds. Sadly some are unreachable but I know when not
to "flog a dead horse" and will simply and politely move on.
Whatever
you feel about any Politician's behavior or policies that is fine with me, for
if I expect the right to my opinion, surely you have the right to yours too, no
matter if I agree or disagree. The art is to be able to function in spite of my
opinion on your position and not to make it personal or to question someone's
commitment to the Union. This deflection actually denotes to me a lack of
confidence in your position when you go to those levels.
My
colleague in fighting this good fight and good friend Dr. Gina Loudon was
subject to vitriol recently for commenting on how questionable the Presidents
decisions have been of late and she is far more qualified than I to do so. You
don't see her exchanging insults and entering into slanging matches, she states
her position and engages in civil discourse to get her point across. We should
all take a leaf out of her book when considering our level of response.
We
sometimes forget in our zeal to get our point across that "Freedom of Speech" is
a two way street and there is an imperative to respect that ideology. Just
because others forget this, it does not excuse our failure to respect others
whether we agree or disagree as it ultimately shows the world what kind of
person we really are.
What about you? What do you think?
Tell me below
Love & Peace, Xander.
- See more at: http://www.xandergibb.com/Are-you-a-Xanderphobe.htm#sthash.Hb4d2KnX.dpufFor those
of us lucky enough to live in countries where we have the right of "Freedom of
Speech" I wonder why merely disagreeing with someone's opinion or position on
any given subject actually makes us phobic? With the recent actions of the
current Administration giving us lots of cause for concern, those of us
who have commented on it publicly have been subject to mixed reviews.For those of us lucky
enough to live in countries where we have the right of "Freedom of Speech" I
wonder why merely disagreeing with someone's opinion or position on any given
subject actually makes us phobic? With the recent actions of the current
Administration giving us lots of cause for concern, those of us who have
commented on it publicly have been subject to mixed reviews.
For those of us lucky enough to live in countries where we have the right of
"Freedom of Speech" I wonder why merely disagreeing with someone's opinion or
position on any given subject actually makes us phobic? With the recent actions
of the current Administration giving us lots of cause for concern, those
of us who have commented on it publicly have been subject to mixed reviews.
Some people agree fully and champion my commentary, most actually have given a
positive response. Some however have accused little Xanny G of being both
unpatriotic, un-American, and even Obama-phobic, but nothing could be further
from the truth. I was even accused of being racist this weekend for disagreeing
with the POTUS, but surely merely disagreeing does not make me any of the above?
If I am totally honest it made me realize that I have indeed responded this way
before regarding several issues. I used to think that anyone who was not for gay
marriage was homophobic until I broke it down and found nothing could be further
from the truth. Whilst I am sure there are lots opposed to gay marriage that are
total homophobes, there are I am sure, a lot are not.
Because I took the time to dialogue and have a level of civil discourse with
those I had termed as "phobic" I learned that the objections were in
reference to same sex marriage in Churches and the state of Holy Matrimony and
not the Civil Marriage as provided by the state, for most. Whist I think people
should be clearer, sometimes we have to clarify in order to be sure or we never
grow as a community.
Before I left the Dem's and saw how deep the rabbit hole really went I would
term every objection to Obama's policies as either a clear objection to the man
or discrimination in some way or another. Of course it couldn't be just because
the policy was faulty and just like these "Xanderphobes" I deflected opinions I
disagreed with by creating reasoning for their objections, even though my
reasoning was even faulty.
The point it actually becomes an issue is when people cannot simply agree to
disagree, and decide they want to either insult you or fight with you as they
have nothing better to do. I am sure I have responded in this way,
pre-evolution, but because I have evolved I do realize some people are beyond
education and will not cast my pearls before swine.
I have been insulted, threatened, had death threats and all the negativity you
can imagine but I am still here, fighting the good fight. One thing I learned
long ago is that I am not here to be liked, although it is nice when you are. I
am actually here to make a difference and if I have to endure a level of
negative response in order to make a difference then so be it.
Speaking out really costs in the long run, but surely it is better to be true to
oneself and say exactly how you feel rather than join the millions of other
sheep who follow blindly and toe the party line, even if they feel it is wrong.
We get one life and for me it is an imperative to make a difference and I hope
that will be my epitaph. Here lies Xander Gibb, he made a difference in this
world.
Whether or not you agree me is not the issue in this case, it is actually
about being true to myself and my beliefs. I may not agree with you and your
perspectives in every instance, but with dialogue and civil discourse I am sure
we can find a point to have a meeting of minds. Sadly some are unreachable but I
know when not to "flog a dead horse" and will simply and politely move on.
Whatever you feel about any Politician's behavior or policies that is fine with
me, for if I expect the right to my opinion, surely you have the right to yours
too, no matter if I agree or disagree. The art is to be able to function in
spite of my opinion on your position and not to make it personal or to question
someone's commitment to the Union. This deflection actually denotes to me a lack
of confidence in your position when you go to those levels.
My colleague in fighting this good fight and good friend Dr. Gina Loudon was
subject to vitriol recently for commenting on how questionable the Presidents
decisions have been of late and she is far more qualified than I to do so. You
don't see her exchanging insults and entering into slanging matches, she states
her position and engages in civil discourse to get her point across. We should
all take a leaf out of her book when considering our level of response.
We sometimes forget in our zeal to get our point across that "Freedom of Speech"
is a two way street and there is an imperative to respect that ideology. Just
because others forget this, it does not excuse our failure to respect others
whether we agree or disagree as it ultimately shows the world what kind of
person we really are.
What about you? What do you think?
Tell me below
Love & Peace, Xander.
Some people
agree fully and champion my commentary, most actually have given a positive
response. Some however have accused little Xanny G of being both unpatriotic,
un-American, and even Obama-phobic, but nothing could be further from the truth.
I was even accused of being racist this weekend for disagreeing with the POTUS,
but surely merely disagreeing does not make me any of the above?
If I am
totally honest it made me realize that I have indeed responded this way before
regarding several issues. I used to think that anyone who was not for gay
marriage was homophobic until I broke it down and found nothing could be further
from the truth. Whilst I am sure there are lots opposed to gay marriage that are
total homophobes, there are I am sure, a lot are not.
Because I
took the time to dialogue and have a level of civil discourse with those I
had termed as "phobic" I learned that the objections were in reference to same
sex marriage in Churches and the state of Holy Matrimony and not the Civil
Marriage as provided by the state, for most. Whist I think people should be
clearer, sometimes we have to clarify in order to be sure or we never grow as a
community.
Before I
left the Dem's and saw how deep the rabbit hole really went I would term every
objection to Obama's policies as either a clear objection to the man or
discrimination in some way or another. Of course it couldn't be just because the
policy was faulty and just like these "Xanderphobes" I deflected opinions I
disagreed with by creating reasoning for their objections, even though my
reasoning was even faulty.
The point
it actually becomes an issue is when people cannot simply agree to disagree, and
decide they want to either insult you or fight with you as they have nothing
better to do. I am sure I have responded in this way, pre-evolution, but because
I have evolved I do realize some people are beyond education and will not cast
my pearls before swine.
I have been
insulted, threatened, had death threats and all the negativity you can imagine
but I am still here, fighting the good fight. One thing I learned long ago is
that I am not here to be liked, although it is nice when you are. I am actually
here to make a difference and if I have to endure a level of negative
response in order to make a difference then so be it.
Speaking
out really costs in the long run, but surely it is better to be true to oneself
and say exactly how you feel rather than join the millions of other sheep who
follow blindly and toe the party line, even if they feel it is wrong. We get one
life and for me it is an imperative to make a difference and I hope that will be
my epitaph. Here lies Xander Gibb, he made a difference in this world.
Whether
or not you agree me is not the issue in this case, it is actually about being
true to myself and my beliefs. I may not agree with you and your perspectives in
every instance, but with dialogue and civil discourse I am sure we can find a
point to have a meeting of minds. Sadly some are unreachable but I know when not
to "flog a dead horse" and will simply and politely move on.
Whatever
you feel about any Politician's behavior or policies that is fine with me, for
if I expect the right to my opinion, surely you have the right to yours too, no
matter if I agree or disagree. The art is to be able to function in spite of my
opinion on your position and not to make it personal or to question someone's
commitment to the Union. This deflection actually denotes to me a lack of
confidence in your position when you go to those levels.
My
colleague in fighting this good fight and good friend Dr. Gina Loudon was
subject to vitriol recently for commenting on how questionable the Presidents
decisions have been of late and she is far more qualified than I to do so. You
don't see her exchanging insults and entering into slanging matches, she states
her position and engages in civil discourse to get her point across. We should
all take a leaf out of her book when considering our level of response.
We
sometimes forget in our zeal to get our point across that "Freedom of Speech" is
a two way street and there is an imperative to respect that ideology. Just
because others forget this, it does not excuse our failure to respect others
whether we agree or disagree as it ultimately shows the world what kind of
person we really are.
What about you? What do you think?
Tell me below
Love & Peace, Xander.
- See more at: http://www.xandergibb.com/Are-you-a-Xanderphobe.htm#sthash.Hb4d2KnX.dpuf