My Epiphany and a Disclaimer

9-23-15

The other night, at 2 a.m. I had an epiphany. I woke up from a dream where I was editing myself as I posted on Facebook and in this blog. I realized that I spend way too much time worrying about what other people might think about what I have to say.

The truth is, I want to write without worrying about what people think. I am sick and tired of always being politically correct. In my mind, it makes me feel as if I am being censored. Just because I write something it doesn't mean that I am directing that thought at any one person. If I was directing it at an individual, I would use that person's name. We all know that tact is not (nor will ever be) my strong suit.

That being said, I think I will put a disclaimer at the top of my blog that will say, "If you don't see your name this isn't about you. If you don't like what I am writing about, feel free to stop reading. If you have a thought about what I've written, don't hesitate to leave a comment as long as it isn't hateful". 

This all started with a stupid game on Facebook. I answered a couple of questions with the same response, I am missing people being kind. It seems that everywhere I turn I see more and more rudeness and read more and more nasty comments.

I even noticed it on one of my cruise forums. Someone asked a question and someone else gave a response and then a third person jumped in to say don't give an opinion, just answer the question. Excuse me, thought the purpose of the forums were to exchange ideas, tips and information. If I just wanted an answer to a question, I'd call the cruise line.

I've seen people I've known for years post things I've agreed and disagreed with. I click like on the ones I like and read and move on without taking any action on the ones I don't like. As long as they didn't mention my name, they are as entitled to their opinion of whatever the subject was the same as I'm entitled to my opinion. The thing that makes living in the United States so amazing is that we are allowed to have our own opinions and are not required to always agree with each other.

Please don't think that I'm trying to say that I never say or do anything that is hurtful. I'm human so I'm pretty positive that I have and probably will again. I think the difference is that I don't set out to do it on purpose and I won't do it on a social website. If I have an issue on a given subject, I'll address it in my blog. If I have an issue with a business, I will try and resolve it directly with them and if that fails, I'm fairly confident they'll make my blog! If I have an issue with an individual person, I'll address it with them. Personal attacks, in my opinion, are just wrong. 

When I started this blog, I wanted to be able to rant about things that bugged me or got under my skin. Not about particular people, more about behaviors, or lack of. About things I read, observed, heard about, talked about, listened to, and places I visited. On the flip side, I also wanted to talk about things that made me happy, lifted my spirits, changed my life, day, week, month, and year. I wanted to share my adventures, grand kids, family, successes, failures, recipes, and Smiley360 missions. Every so often I like to throw in a few pictures.

I have followers from all over the globe, I've had people ask to use some of my posts. I've had people share my pages, my recipes, and a few have even sent me messages to ask questions! I have followers here on Blogger as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram. Whoever you are and where ever you live, please feel free to continue to decide for yourself if you want to read an entry or skip it.