Blazing Saddles

[Tigger_the_Wing]

Nicely piratical. I never expected a not very well thought through post to generate such an important conversation.

That's Venganza for you.

[LibraLabRat]

I have been told by friends on other sites that my writing has changed pretty dramatically over the last two years. Seeing the things I saw on my deployment, watching my daughter change and grow, watching my marriage change and grow....and dealing with the physical and mental health issues related to my wartime service has change me as a person.

My writing has more purpose now. Before I could bang out ten thousand words a day on a whole bunch of nothing...now, I want to say something. Unfortunately, I am often either preaching to the choir or screaming into the howling maelstrom of moronity that is what American public discourse has become. I do not want sycophants or psychopaths...just people intellectually honest enough to process intelligent discourse. Perhaps I am asking for too much sometimes.

[Tigger_the_Wing]

…I do not want sycophants or psychopaths...

I doubt you'll find either, here on Venganza. At least, they rarely stay long.

...just people intellectually honest enough to process intelligent discourse.…

I think that you'll find quite a lot of those here.

… Perhaps I am asking for too much sometimes.

Sometimes, perhaps. But if you don't aim high, I suspect you'll never get enough.

This place has people who are more than capable of intelligent discourse and certainly don't keep agreeing to keep the peace. Just look at the DB/Qwerty controversies!

Even when there is deep disagreement, the arguments are all about content and interpretation, not insults and tone. Each party feels, no, knows, that their own arguments are at least being read and considered, even if they aren't accepted or agreed with.

I like the way everyone backs up their arguments with references and personal experience.

Life is complex and different for each one of us, but even though no-one here has all the same experiences, many of us share some. There is a lot of empathy and understanding. I think that I would trust this lot to help me when I need help, and to tell me when I am in the wrong. You included, of course.

[LibraLabRat]

Unfortunately, in the era of new skepticism, personal experience is always considered suspect.