It's slowly becoming evident to me that some people who read my diary find me repellently self-confident and opinionated. The underlying problem may be that these people then go on to assume I would never entertain a dissenting opinion because I think I'm right and there's an end to it.
Er, no. Not at all.
If I don't make assertions, give you my opinion, take a stand, then how would you know what I believed? And having made my assertions, etc., where have I ever said or implied I wouldn't listen to someone else's ideas on the topic? If someone strongly disagrees with me I tend to take those discussions to email where I am perfectly reasonable if still opinionated, and where sometimes I simply agree to disagree. I've been known to revise my entries if I decide I've expressed myself poorly. I listen to peer and reader critiques. I might not take the advice, but I do listen.
But maybe that doesn't matter because what's putting people off is my willingness to take a stand and the firm tone I use to express it. If that's a problem then this is definitely not the journal for them. I am not a mild person. I'm used to speaking up for myself. It does not bother me if someone thinks I'm all wrong about politics, or dieting, or animal rights, or what have you. I don't mind if people are on opposite sides of an issue from me once in a while. It's normal. It leads to interesting conversations.
What bothers me is the idea that someone, anyone, would think I believe I'm doing my readers a favor by telling them how I see an issue. Because that's not the case, ever. All I'm doing here is trying to entertain whoever wanders by and listens for a while. Or reads, as the case may be.
I'm confident about that.
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