Expressing an Opinion … But, Do We Dare?

In politics your enemies can’t hurt you, but your friends will kill you.

Now who said we have freedom of speech?  We do but we really don’t.  There are many things we can’t really say or write about.  Oh, maybe we could but we won’t.

To begin with … I can’t sit down here and tell you how I really feel about things.  We have to either be politically correct, socially correct or thoughtful enough not to hurt someone’s feelings.  Our deep inner thoughts and feelings can’t really be expressed.  Most of us learned that long ago.  I did say most of us learned that.  Some folks will write about anything and say anything without thought but most of us won't. 

 

Around the campfire you won't find folks talking about religion or exactly how or what they believe.  It’s the religion they can't talk about and not the actual belief.  Having a belief in God isn’t really the same thing as religion.  It's the religion that's not an accepted discussion topic.  I have many friends who believe differently than I do.  I have friends and family who belong to different religious organizations.  Who is right and who is wrong?  Of course, we all think we are the ones who are right in what we believe but why argue about it?

  

I can’t talk about the folks running the country or not running the country.  We can’t talk about being a Democrat or a Republican.   That can really get a conversation going around the campfire.  Oh, now some of you know very much where Terry stands.  He’s a little more vocal on this than I am.  He has a few “camper-friends” who discuss this topic occasionally or maybe the word is, regularly.  (You boys know exactly who you are.)  However, I mostly just prefer to roll my eyes and keep those inner feelings inner.

  

The off-limit subjects don’t stop with those or with immigration,  race and social subjects.  It goes on and on.  There are many topics out there and I suppose there will always be.  The hot topics can make some people pretty hot so we’ve learned just to stay away from them.  Well, we’ve learned mostly to stay away from the subjects.  We could throw out a few topics on immigration, pro-life or pro-choice and even the white house dog.  It doesn’t matter what the topic some things are just better left unsaid …. at least until you know the folks better.  The setting around a campfire isn’t always the best place to start these topics. 

 

We also try to stay away from the subject of money.  You may not think that’s a touchy topic but it can be.  This is something off the table.  It’s private.  There are the haves and the have nots.  The RV world brings folks together and the wealth or lack there of has no part because most RVers  have found everyone really is more equal and money plays little part.  Topics on the economy or fuel prices can probably get you into trouble too.

 

Talking about food can even get you in trouble but it’s usually one of the safest things to concentrate on.  If you’re a picky eater, you’re not fun to share a meal with.  It’s a red meat and salad battle here. There are some topics that we’ll come out fighting about. One of those is family.

Okay, I'm going to step out on a limb here because current events can be very hot topics. It's not the repeating of the current event. It's the expressing of an opinion. Here is an example. One controversial event is that of Martin vs. Zimmerman or is it Zimmerman vs. Martin?. Some folks had Zimmerman guilty and others had him innocent. Both of these opinions were expressed long before the facts were in. The guilty opinions were much stronger than the innocent opinions but no one really knew. 

So, here's the hot question. Would the result be the same had Zimmerman and Martin been in each other's shoes?  Or, would it have been the same? Obviously, that we will never know but do you dare express an opinion?  See what I mean?

One is Zimmerman and the other is Martin.

I’m not saying  these are subjects we never discuss.  Some of you know we do.  These are subjects that are only discussed with the closest of friends.  Like I said we have learned there are some things that are just better left unsaid around the campfire or in any setting.

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We certainly may have the freedom of speech but there are many times we really shouldn’t use it. Words can definitely get one in a lot of trouble especially with words that are not thought out first.  We all stumble at times.  We all need to apologize at times for words spoken.  Sure we may be given the right of freedom of speech but using it isn't always the best thing to do.  Writing about our opinions on a blog can fall into that same category depending on the topic.  Regardless of our freedoms there are times we certainly need to bite our tongue  ... figuratively.

‘Tis life on the road.