God

[Andy Baker]

For the most part, this has been a thoughtful and respectful thread. There are many good posts by good people.

I have two observations:

1. It makes me feel like a proud father to see many of you mature over the years. I see people respecting other's opinions (for the most part), even though they disagree with them. I see many people in this thread who would've flamed each other a year ago.

Don't get me wrong... healthy debate is good. But when you start attacking someone else's personal beliefs, that is when people get defensive and they tell you to stop.

2. I consider the people who post on the CD Forums to be fairly smart people. I would assume that almost all of you have above average intelligence. With this said, it amazes me that all of these smart people have such different beliefs when it comes to religion and politics. Within this crowd of fairly smart people, there are atheists, very religious people, die-hard Democrats, and right-wing Republicans. The neat thing is that, for the most part, we all get along fairly well.

For example... I just called my friend Bill Gold for a simple favor. Bill is a great guy. I've known him for about 3 years. We both know that we differ on some controversial issues, but we still consider each other friends. I can call him for a favor and he can do the same with me. I value our friendship. It's OK that we disagree on some issues. We still respect each other even though we disagree. It's OK. It really is. People are going to disagree... as long as the respect is there.

So, debate. Voice your opinion. But... as you are proving your intelligence, be respectful. Hey... maybe I have something there. Maybe this "Respectful Intelligence" is a derivative of "Gracious Professionalism". Hmmm.

Be good,
Andy B.