Dear Readers

Today, I received a very nice email from someone. In order to protect their privacy, I won't say who it is or quote from it, but it did make me think. It was respectful and really just showed me what a class act this person really is. I appreciate that they took the time to express their feelings.

The essence of the email was that they disagree with many of Obama's policies and that they are far more conservative in their beliefs. They said that they weren't commenting on my political posts because of this. I hope my response did not seem too curt, but I basically said that we can agree to disagree and that we all do need to express our opinions.

I know that it's pretty clear that I'm a liberal Democrat. This election is very important to me and I will be blogging about it a fair amount. I hope that I do not offend anyone, but one of the main reasons for this blog is for me to express my opinions. That doesn't mean that I don't want any conservatives here. We liberals and conservatives certainly can all appreciate some good food! There's baking in addition to the politics! And I won't delete someone from my blogroll just because they are conservative.

I admit that I don't read many political blogs that are conservative, but I guess I never really thought about the political leanings of those who don't necessarily write about politics. I may be babbling at this point, but I just wanted to say that I hope we can all get along here and I want people to feel welcome even if we have different political views.


Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2008. All rights reserved.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
I've been blogging since 2004 and just passed the 9 million hit mark. You know what I've learned?

That no matter what you post, if you get enough of an audience, someone is bound to disagree with just about any post. I've had people send me complaints because I post kitten pictures.

Of course, when you post politics or religion you will obviously get more complaints.

The way I look at it is my blog is an outlet for who I am and where my interests lie. I've always been unapologetic for any of my postings that are true to those standards. I'm sure I've lost readers because of that but I've also gained many. Comments are always open for those who disagree and they are welcome to do so as long as the dialogue remains civil. Many a times I've changed my opinion because of a well thought out argument that somebody left as a comment.

The most important rule for blogging is to blog from your heart.
Babz Rawls Ivy said…
I am with Chris.

I must say quite a few of my blog friends got these "little emails" about their views etc. So I think this is a orchestrated attempt to push the McCain-Palin agenda. I have responded to one such email yesterday...I was neither polite or nice.

I say If you feel like you want to email me your views you better be prepared for me to bark back. Especially if I know you are talking mess that I don't agree with.
Anonymous said…
I am the emailer mentioned in this post. The comment above and comments like it are the main reason I just won't "Get into it" and express my actual views here. It is and not because Anali crosses the line. It is because some of the commenters do.

In this post, Anali didn't even mention any specifics, other than my disagreement with many of Obama's policies, and the above commenter made the assertion from this that I am part of an "orchestrated attempt to push the McCain-Palin agenda". That's a big leap, really!

As if nobody could possibly ever disagree with Senator Obama's policies (which were never even specified in the post), and if you do so you are being paid by Karl Rove as part of a dirty-tricks conspiracy he organized.

Inherent in the attitude of the above commenter is a disrespect for political dissent and disagreement.

As for these "little emails" I have sent to bloggers like this, I have only done this twice. Once to another blogger, starting a few years ago, and now to Anali. Hardly an "orchestrated attempt to push the McCain-Palin agenda". The first blogger and I get along great, years later.

Anali's response was respectful, and she is a class act also.

Anali said: "This election is very important to me and I will be blogging about it a fair amount. I hope that I do not offend anyone, but one of the main reasons for this blog is for me to express my opinions."

I hope she keeps doing this. She does a great job of it, too. It is the disrespectful commenters, with false accusations and mentions of conspiracy theories, that are discouraging open discussion here. Not Anali herself.
Lisa Johnson said…
chris - Wow! You are one of the original bloggers from way back in the day! 9 million hits is amazing! You'll have to give me some pointers. : )

I do blog from my heart, because that's all I really know how to do and it's what I enjoy. I know I can't please everyone and I figure if people truly don't like what they see here, then they just won't come back.

I can only hope that people will find what I've written interesting and maybe they will see something differently than they might have otherwise.

lovebabz - I think that the emails you've been getting might be very different than mine. I didn't have that kind of reaction at all. I've been pretty lucky that whenever I get emails, they are usually nice comments from people.

anonymous - Thank you for the comment and again for the email. Politically we may differ, but I think we both agree on the importance of kindness and respect.
Babz Rawls Ivy said…
Anali this is the same email. I have seen this...same language same tone. I ahve seen this on several other blogs. If you want I will email you the stuff I have gotten from other blog friends. It is always an email and always the same thing.

I come here and post my with my name and you have been to my site. I have no reason to be disrespectful to you or anyone else. I have no agenda.

Take care and be well.
Anonymous said…
The above commenter has not even seen my email. If Anali compares my actual email to the others you describe, she will see that they are not the same. How can they be? I've never sent an email to your blog friends. Now lets put the conspiracy theories to rest. "anonymous" won't post again, and hopefully the wild idea of a political conspiracy by the McCain-Palin campaign to control the election by sending "the same" email to all these bloggers will go the way of the Frumious Bandersnatch.

And have a great day and eat something sweet! : )
starry said…
I think it is important to be a truthful blogger and not just write something to make everyone happy or like you.So go ahead Anali, you are not going to offend me.
Lisa Johnson said…
lovebabz + anonymous - Okay you two, let's play nice! ; )

starry nights - I agree. I write how I feel and that's really all that I can do. Thanks for the support as usual Starry! :D
Suldog said…
As you know, Anali, I'm a Libertarian. Not too many things I can read, politically, without disagreeing about something :-) But, we can all enjoy the parts of each other we respect and admire, leaving the ugliness aside. If we have a serious political disagreement, we can always try to discuss it with aplomb and politeness. If someone doesn't, what does that say about their politics?

Good job, both by you and by anonymous.
Mosilager said…
It's nice to have healthy debate... that's what blogs are all about. It's great when people can agree to disagree and unite behind their political system.

As I told someone, it's a hallmark of civilisation that power changes hands peacefully in many countries now. May their tribe increase, and long live debate.
So So Simple said…
Anali
This debate is fun boy its going to get hot as election day gets closer.

We have an election in November as well, a fun time for commentators.

I shall be watching with great interest
Cheers
Lisa Johnson said…
suldog - It seems like it shouldn't be so difficult. Well, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

mosilager - If people could agree to disagree and really just let things be, this world would be such a happier place.

so simple - Things are getting hot, but I hope they don't too hot!
Noumenon said…
Through the first two paragraphs I was absolutely sure that you had received an e-mail like this:

Dear Anali:
SUCK RUSH LIMBAUGH'S DONKEY BALLS
--gop4eva

and were just heightening the sarcasm to make fun of it.
Lisa Johnson said…
noumenon - Welcome! Nope. It really was a nice email. No sarcasm.
Anonymous said…
I demand a debate between Obama & Mc Cain in this comment room. ;-)
Lisa Johnson said…
zen chef - That would actually be kind of interesting. Although it could get too hot to handle! And if you can't stand the heat, well you know. ; )
Anonymous said…
Well, you know that I don't pull any puinches when it comes to political commentary at my blog... and some of my readers don't agree with me... just as much as I don't agree with some of the political thoughts of some blogs that I read.

The key is respect. When we actually talk to each other, instead of shouting at each other (and no party is any less guilty than any other), we can actually have dialogue.
Lisa Johnson said…
gunfighter1 - I couldn't agree more. It's all about respect.

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