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A Plea for Understanding
Years ago when I began blogging here, I wrote an initial post that promised an open forum, diverse subjects and an honest discourse. I asked for civility in comments and promised the same in return. Those were the days when we screened and could edit comments. I promised to publish any and all comments that were not obscene, racist or contained personal attacks. I kept that promise. Today, of course, we no longer can screen comments.
I am increasingly bothered and saddened by the virulent tone of many comments to this blog. I am not dishonest, nor do I attempt to mislead. I am a fairly intelligent person with a good engineering education and long experience in scientific and technical fields. I am I think unusually curious and obsessively search for truth. Being human, I do not always find it.
My posts always deal with what I believe to be true. My basic purpose is to get people to think, to consider things in a way that is perhaps new or different. I am conservative by experience, having been a vocal liberal in college. I am an unabashed Christian, having arrived at faith from college agnosticism through common-sense science-based analyses of the conflicting theories of life and existence. I know this bothers a lot of folks, but I assure you that my belief in God is an honest and thoughtful conclusion to a long period of introspection. It is definitely not the result of listening to Jimmy Swaggart.
Comments to Eagle's Eye lately and going back aways have become increasingly vile and insulting. I have been called an idiot and a liar, which I am neither. Neither am I a fool or any of the other personal insults. I am a pretty nice guy (so I've been told) who has certain opinions and is taking advantage of this wonderful flexible forum to express them. Some admittedly are controversial but none are meant to be mean-spirited or hurtful.
I am chagrined that I have at times succumbed to the temptation to respond in kind to particularly nasty comments. For this I am truly sorry. I will try to do better. (Some of you could make it easier for me by toning it down a bit.)
So, this is a plea for understanding. If you disagree with what I say, feel free to express your rebuttal. I try very hard to research my assertions and avoid error. However, I have made mistakes and have, with the passage of time and availability of additional information, modified my positions. I do listen to contrary views. To not do so would indeed be dishonest. This does not mean I lied, just that I was honestly mistaken. Give me a break, folks. Even Albert Einstein admitted error. (No, I am not comparing myself to Albert the Great.)
All I ask for is civility and a modicum of respect. I promise to exercise the same to those who take the time and make the effort to comment. I truly appreciate thoughtful commentary, even in disagreement. Let's discuss, not fight. Thanks.
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32 Comments
jhayett - Oct 06, 2010 7:27 PM
God bless
jhayett - Oct 06, 2010 8:03 PM
Onlyoneme - Oct 06, 2010 8:44 PM
I can empathize with your frustration Al. I think what you need to keep in mind is that you have control over your own answers and replies. A word of advice from Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) “When angry count to four. When very angry, swear.” My suggestion is to try to not respond to the insults with insults of your own. Responding as Hayett suggests by “kicking back” will in the end be counterproductive and only incite more insults and disrespect. The evidence for this observation is Hayetts blog. If possible just ignore the deletarious responses that show disrespect. “A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” – Mark Twain
It is best to avoid terms like the “global warming idiots” as this will only incite others to respond with similar jabs and insults.
I have put some thought into this because I have been reassessing my own responses to posts directed at myself lately.
yert49 - Oct 06, 2010 9:23 PM
Al, this is a very honest post and I appreciate your candor. FJL is like the ugly step-sister, you just get sick and tired of it's pigheadedness. Some people have to learn the hard way bu through experience most eventually get there. But quite honestly, FJL is such a miserable little troll, so unhappy, it really deserves the name "glum".
Carl Hicks - Oct 06, 2010 9:39 PM
It is easy to allow ones passions to push their politeness to the side. And when it comes to this idea that man isn't having an influence on the global environment and nature always repairs itself I just wonder how one can buy into it.
I would have prefered you responded in your previous post about rising sea levels due to displacement due to dumping but it took a different turn. My completely hypothetical well situation was only driving home the point that gasoline is a pollutant. Mother nature wouldn't grow potential logs ( trees ) or allow some of it's (her?) own products to comingle ( natural oil leaks, volcanic ash ) if she couldn't handle it in the long run but I doubt she had planned for synthetic toxins.
My point being Chernobyl may be lush and green but you make a living hunting the land and selling the radioactive meat to the government for disposal not consumption.
The water around the Union Carbide plant in India is still contamined after decades. We let oil companies dump toxic materials into the ocean and below the soil that they, by having "propriartary rights" only divulge that it is toxic and not what it actually is , so we have no idea what side effects are even possible.
For us to nonchalantly proclaim it just dosn't matter and we can do no harm is arrogant.
Like a navy safety poster I remember well said " complacency kills" .
We see things changing so studying why is simply human nature.
If you are drawing off a Lake Superior aquafer you most defintely are wondering why local lakes levels are so low.
Was the snow deeper when I was a kid or were my legs just shorter?
yert49 - Oct 06, 2010 9:59 PM
aneuhauser - Oct 07, 2010 12:43 AM
I am upset at the transformation of green space into tacky strip malls and acres of asphalt parking lot. The latter absorb huge amounts of heat and re-radiate it at night. I'm convinced that contributes to urban hot-spots besides being ugly. My problem is I just do not believe the so-called evidence claiming to support anthropogenic global warming caused by CO2. The subject has been debated endlessly so I'll not repeat my arguments here. I have a huge problem with junk science that I believe is largely the result of grant-induced temptations to find politically-correct results. I've always loved science and hate to see it corrupted.
I think we've beat the gasoline thing to death. I'll concede your point. I'm not sure about sea levels rising due to dumping. The oceans are pretty big and it seems it would take a lot of dumping and sunken ships to make much of a dent. Anyway, they're not rising much. The IPCC claims 2.3mm/year--about 1/10 inch--but that number is disputed (it's based on a single selected tide guage among six in Hong Kong harbor) and not corroborated by ocean level satellite data which shows no net rise in recent years.
I certainly am not in favor of toxic waste dumping. As a youngster I remember the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, where I grew up, periodically catching fire due to industrial waste dumping. I saw the waste pipes myself. The county shut them down and now the river is clean except for the occasional beer can. Lake Erie was dead--no fish--due to pollution from the river. It also now is clean and fishy again. Took 25 years.
Pax.
aneuhauser - Oct 08, 2010 12:18 AM
Having said that, I want to make it clear that I do not think the many folks who sincerely believe that global climate change is a potential or real threat to the ecosystem are "idiots". I believe they have been misled by the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the public, but I respect their honest concern for Planet Earth. I am concerned also, but for different reasons.
My last response to you, FJL/LCP, is that yes, I now accept the possibility that the North Polar ice cap is displaying some melting, although it is in no danger of disappearing and drowning all those poor polar bears that seem to be doing just fine, thank you. I ran across the theory of the cyclic Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ocean heating effect just recently and found it plausible. So, since I am an honest fellow, I modified my position to allow for the possibility that some net melting is currently taking place, but it is temporary, has nothing to do with anthropogenic global warming and will eventually reverse. I have adjusted my positions quite often over time as additional valid information (repeat--VALID) comes to my attention. To do otherwise would be stubbornly dogmatic, and that I am not. Adios, pal.
jman99 - Oct 08, 2010 2:38 PM
"I wish to thank LLC and Journal Communications for this blogging opportunity...it has been an education.
However, for me to stay would be akin to repeating Bill Murray's character's mistakes in the movie "GroundHog Day".
I do not wish to participate in, nor validate, dialogues involving consistently uninformed opinions and slanderous invective from a couple of self-righteous fools (Jim Hayett & Amy Geiger-Hemmer) over and over and over again.
Real discourse involves listening...something of which these radical, fascist morons are incapable. I validate their stupidity with my presence on this site (Have I been TOO descriptive...?).
REAL Conservatives are worthy of respect..they simply look at things differently than Liberals; yet we are ALL Americans.
Locally, despite his bewildering denial of climate change, we have our own Al Neuhauser, who presents his opinions thoughtfully and gives thoughtful responses.
At the national level we have Ted Olson who, despite winning Bush v. Gore for the Republicans, is a man of great principle and is taking his belief in individual liberty, human rights and dignity all the way to the Supreme Court in his defense of Gay Marriage.
I look forward to seeing those still interested in actual intellectual exchange, mutual listening, SOME silliness, and better citizenry through discourse, at my new blog:
Spinoza's Disciple http://spinozasdisciple.blogspot.com/
6:01am: Something is different. Anything different is good.
Bye-Bye..."
reformed trucker - Oct 08, 2010 10:14 PM
aneuhauser - Oct 09, 2010 1:24 AM
On the other hand, there are reasonable commenters of both persuasions who actually say something thoughtful and thought-provoking, and who obviously have more than two working brain cells. They make it all worthwhile.
By way of criticism, the "fascist moron" comment is a bit inflammatory and not worthy of a dignified observer. Vehemence can sometimes be mistaken for diatribe, while in fact being little more than a difference in style. Barry Goldwater said, unwisely during his 1964 run for the presidency against Lyndon Johnson, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Poor Barry was crucified by the opposition as a"dangerous extremist," a perfect example of distortion and (deliberate) misreading. Goldwater was a decent gentleman and deserved better. I voted for him. He, of course, lost, and the rest is history.
Jim and Amy are both decent folks whom I know at a distance. They care deeply for this country and sincerely believe it is in real danger. Whether or not they are right, and I think they are, I can understand their frustration and anger. Our styles differ but our philosophies mesh. This blog site is overloaded with liberal-left commenters and writers, so a degree of exasperation and perhaps overreaction is understandable. Maybe that's one reason I don't read others' stuff. I have enough trouble with the comments to my own.
sirlaughsalittle - Oct 11, 2010 10:29 AM
"Will miss Victor"? I hate to be the one to break it to you Al, Victor's last post was in February. Do you think that could be the reason for him "neglecting" you "lately"? Speaking of neglect, I don't recall you ever dropping in to offer an opinion on the topics he had written about. I know, you just couldn't find the time.
BTW, Victor's "fascist moron" comment is, in my opinion, fairly accurate. Their glorification of the nation state along with the incessant demonization of anyone who doesn't fit their red, white and blue standards is consistent with the Nazi's demonization of those who didn't measure up. The "moron" part of his comment is unarguable.
And considering that you don't bother to read their idiotic rants how would you know if they are decent folks? Just about everything they write is based in hatred, pure and simple. Decent folks don't wallow in hatred.
Oh, and they call themselves Christians. Because, well, they're obviously very Christ-like.
yert49 - Oct 11, 2010 6:51 PM
sirlaughsalittle - Oct 12, 2010 10:39 AM
Sorry that you are disturbed by the truth, yert.
Do you know how you can tell when someone is filled with hatred towards another? They spend the majority of their time trying to destroy that person's character. If they can't find something tangible to pin on the target of their hatred, they'll create something from thin air; the birthers are a prime example. Out of thin air they'll create reasons to discredit the achievements of the hated one: "So Barry O. and Michelle O. claim they took out student loans to pay for school. Note: they SAY it. It hasn't been proven anywhere. Where IS the dreaded paper trail? Just as the elitist, arrogant man-child's grades are MIA, too."
On the eve of Christmas they'll put their hatred aside and write about, peace, love, joy, and good will towards men. I suppose we should at least give them credit for being good Christians for a day. Jesus would be proud.
yert49 - Oct 12, 2010 1:49 PM
Onlyoneme - Oct 12, 2010 2:03 PM
Calling the kettle black again??
jhayett - Oct 12, 2010 2:44 PM
Al, I apologize for these people but as you can see, and have tried, there is no way to make them happy unless America is run by their own ideology.
jhayett - Oct 12, 2010 3:02 PM
"Do you know how you can tell when someone is filled with hatred towards another? They spend the majority of their time trying to destroy that person's character. If they can't find something tangible to pin on the target of their hatred, they'll create something from thin air" You jmark, are the "prime example." Thank you. And more thanks for posting your hate on Al's blog
Onlyoneme - Oct 12, 2010 4:34 PM
Funny, the same distorted argument could be said about the "other side" of the political coin.
""And more thanks for posting your hate on Al's blog"" - Hayett
Jim did jman99 "make you" post your comments here? Take this back to your own blog, Mr. Hayett. Let Al police his own blog if he so wishes.
My apologies Al, for my outburst, I have a great deal of respect for you and your blogs, regardless of my opinion.