Now you're talking

For those who didn't know: I generally dislike the comment sections in stories on the Internet.

Me and the First Amendment get along fine. But the overwhelming majority of comments sections I have seen have forgotten that rights come with responsibilities and that freedom of speech is not absolute. So people are allowed to say outrageously hateful things, slander and libel with impunity, make unsubstantiated allegations and worst of all, write in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

And yes, sunshine is a fine disinfectant -- and these sorts of statements, out in the open, let us all know what a bunch of morons we can be. (And racists, sadly.) But they also have a chilling effect on a free and open exchange of ideas, because who wants to subject themselves to that kind of abuse? there's no shades of gray anywhere. All Republicans are wealthy jack-booted thugs; all Democrats are socialist atheist anti-gun hippies; all Tea Party members wear hats lined with Reynolds Wrap; and so on and so forth, can't we all just get along, blah blah blah ...

It all makes Mark Twain's view of the human race in his wickedly brilliant "Letters From The Earth" that much more sympathetic: "Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his very, very best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm."

But if I'm going to replace my facebook experience with old-school media like blogs, then there needs to be some interactivity. That's just how it works.

So I've decided, for now, to enable comments on my blog. I am going to moderate them, to be sure, but comments there will be.

And this is your first chance. Got a comment about comments? Feel free to comment.