Goals for this blog

  Alright people this is my first crack at blogging so cut me some slack. I have been graciously invited to contribute to this blog by someone who I have had great discussions with before on several topics. On the particular topic of politics, I feel like I have been able to have a more civil discussion with him than anyone I can think of. We certainly disagree on many political issues but somehow we always manage to leave out the usual heated rhetoric and quick reverting to talking points. I am kind of hoping we can have the same sort of discussion on this blog. By no means am I perfect. Anyone who has had a conversation with me on politics knows that I can quickly divert from constructive conversation by letting my emotions get the best of me and falling into the trap. I dont want to pretend that I am this "straight down the center" thinker on all things politics.
  However, I would like that to be the ultimate goal of our conversations here. I know it wont always happen. I know for sure that I will have many people that think I am radical on some issues and they wont be able to handle it without emotions getting the best of them. I know for sure I wont be able to take some of the comments on my posts with a grain of salt. Civility is just something I want to strive for on this blog. Its not an original idea by any means, but its just something you dont here very often now days. Anyone can turn on Fox News or MSNBC and here what they WANT to hear but this can hopefully be a place where we can disagree whole heartedly on something but still find a way to have a constructive conversation about it.
 Some of the other contributors on this blog may or may not have the same goals for the conversation that I do and thats fine. They will likely post provacative things just as I'm sure I will and whatever happens on a topic that any of the other contributors deserves no criticism from me. For a lot of people politics is a very taboo subject. I understand that some people think that voting is enough and the rest should be left out of every day conversations. While I completely respect that view, I happen to think that constructive debate and opposing views are essential to a democracy and have a very important place in conversations not just by politicians and representatives but by the people that elect them. I am hoping this blog can be a place where we can have these discussions and not flood facebook with stuff that most people frankly dont want to read on a social network site.  Again, I surely will be a hypocrite on this blog when it comes to being objective and always striving for taking the high road but I dont think that is a good enough reason to not try to keep focus on actual issues instead of the every day politics that we hear everywhere. I look forward to our discussions and I hope everyone else does too!