It's just annoying, Tom. And patronizing.

I know how the catechism goes; liberals only want to interfere with our lives, conservatives just want freedom for everyone, so when I propose a dissenting particle of thought to that pathetic meme it must be confronted, exposed and stamped out immediately, even if it is in a different context and part of another train of thought.

And then when we react with umbrage it is evidence of our inability to accept criticism or conduct a reasoned exchange, right? I'm doing my best to maintain a non-confrontational posture, but I still get the impression that my every word is being scrutinzed. I try to keep my remarks general and generic, in other words, I self-censor myself against my own better judgement and my human nature just to try and keep the dialogue moving, but somehow it never seems to be enough. Even when I make a comment that offends no one, I generally have to endure a response piously pointing out how much better is the way we do it here in our American, free enterprise, Father-Founded, non-collectivist free market. Maybe we should type in the Pledge of Allegiance every day before we start posting.

I'm sorry I jumped all over GBAIKE, he really can't help himself, but it was obvious he was immune to irony so I thought I could bore him away with a tedious philosophical rant. Instead, it just put more blood in the water.

And yes, there is something you can do about it. Stop it.