Freadom Nation is a Blog

I am the Freadom Nation Dictator. Yes, you heard (read) that right. Freadom Nation  is a blog, and I am the Dictator of it. I have complete and total control over everything you see on this blog.  Freadom Nation is the only thing in my life I have complete control over -- AND I LOVE IT.

It's fun.  It's a hobby.  It's my way of articulating ideas.  It's my way of making myself feel good.  I think this is the same reason most people blog.  It's a place to meet friends and have an intelligent discussion in the arena of ideas. 

We love a discussion even with those who disagree with us.  Sometimes we change our minds.  I know I have changed my mind many times based on comments of my readers.  Yet one thing we don't need here is deragatory comments and spam.  These result only in upsetting people and serve no purpose here. 

What you see here is my hobby. While some of you go golfing, or play baseball, or sell stuff on eBay, or yard sale it, or collect baseball cards, or collect antiques, or pick your nose for fun, your humble RT is a writer. Freadom Nation is a  representation of facts, ideas and opinions blended with some dry humor.

 

Yet it's all mine. Unlike the rest of my life where I have to surrender to the whims of my boss, wife and kids, here I have complete autonomy. This blog is a breath of fresh air. It's relaxing. It's fun. If it where anything else it wouldn't be a hobby, it would be a job.

This and my other blogs is therapy of sorts for me.  Psychologists often prescribe for their patients to write as a means of organizing their thoughts.  I know of some bloggers and even some best selling writers who got their start by writing just to entertain their minds in such a way. 

While I don't write by prescription, I do write for this reason.  I enjoy it.  I  love it.  While I often use facts and links to verify what I write, opinion often slips into my writings.  It's a bias and I can do it because I'm the dictator. After all, this is a blog, not a newspaper.

This is my happy place. 

So please note your humble writer is also publisher and editor, and therefore mistakes will be overlooked from time to time. A source may be left out, a their mistaken for a there, or an opinion splattered in a post that most of my readers disagree with. Bronchodilitator may at times replace bronchodilator.

 

And this brings me to comments. Most bloggers yearn for comments as they make a blog flow. I have had many intelligent discussions ensue from them. And many of you guys have, at times, let me know you disagree with me. That makes for an even more enlightening discussion in the arena of ideas. It makes us all smarter.

 

I have a policy on my blog that I publish every comment except for two types: 

1. Spam  
2. Derogatory

So what is spam? These are comments from evil people who want you to click on their link to sell their product or force you to catch a virus. I don't want that on my blog. It's for this reason alone that you have to type in letters every time you enter a comment. It's also for this reason I have to pre-approve comments.

 

I think about 40 percent of comments are spam. Sometimes spammers are tricky and it's hard to tell spam from a legit comment. So if you've ever had a comment not published, that's probably the reason. This also creates a lot of extra work for me, because sometimes I don't have time to filter through all the spam. So I leave it for later. So a few rotten apples sometimes spoil the batch.

 

So what of deragatory comments.  I like to define them this way:  A derogatory comment is from a person who doesn't want opinions other than ones they approve of to be heard.  They have no intelligent way of expressing their anger, and no way to prove you wrong, so they whip out words of hate.  These are comments that use personal attacks, condescending tones, or otherwise have little consideration for the author of a post or another comment.

Here is a recent examples I have received:

• Invest in a spell checker. You're an idiot.
• way to go douchebag! copied direct from wikipaedia!
• Wow, you are pathetic to not even approve a comment on your blog that is critical of this ridiculous post. I posted part of your blog post on my Facebook and I must say the consensus is that you are an idiot.

I'm actrually shocked at how few derogatory comments I get. I figured it would be as high as 40 percent, but I'd say it's less than one percent.

 
I find that publishing derogatory comments would serve little purpose, regardless of any other useful information they might contain.

 

This blog is meant to create an accurate picture of the truth as I see it. If you don't want to hear the truth as I see it you might not be happy with this blog.  If you can't stand to hear opinions other than those you agree with you will not like this blog.  So don't read it.  Go away!  Don't tell me you hate me!  Don't tell me I'm an idiot!  Just go away!

 

If you're that sheltered just go away!  Don't leave senseless comments just for the intent of inciting anger.  Besides, I don't get angry anyway so you're wasting your time.  All your comments do is tell how ignorant you are.

 

Yet this IS my blog. I am the dictator. Yet unlike real dictators, I allow you all a voice. Use it wisely and share with us your wisdom, even if we might disagree with it. You have a God given right to be right, yet you -- and me -- also have a God given right to be wrong too.  If you think I'm wrong, prove it.  You never know, a sensible mind will see the wisdom of the truth.

 

So leave comments. Let me know if you disagree. Let me know if I'm getting carried away. Let me know if I made a mistake. Let me know if I'm getting lazy in my approach. Yet don't be condescending and don't use derogatory words like douchbag, idiot, moron, stupid, #$@#, SDFD (&((, and the like. Be nice.