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Like Noses, Everybody Has One...or Fifty Several year's worth of pent-up opinionating, all in one article by Steve Mcfarland
Where once news commentary was relegated to a three-minute segment at the end of a broadcast, it now has become the main attraction; hours and hours of opinion dotted occasionally with something called “news.” It is certain that opinion has been around forever. A person’s opinion of an issue, in large measure, shapes how that persons thinks and reacts to issues, problems and life in general. Now I‘m sure knowing what you believe is healthy, and in many ways separates humans from other animals, but something has changed in the way opinion is shared. Where once it was with discretion and usually offered by invitation only, opinions today are imposed with no holds barred or permission asked. They gush from television, radio and print like a fire hydrant jetting water. Recently I was made aware of how worked up I can become listening to someone with whom I disagree. My wife, who will not watch Fox news because of the fighting that dominates most broadcasts, told me she could see a change in me after listening to the various debates and banter associated with the presentation of issues on Fox. I quickly disagreed, and then tossed and turned for an hour over just such an issue, all while I should have been asleep. It then hit me that I would have slept better if I would have either A) watched the weather channel or B) stared at the ceiling for an hour. Come to think about it, watching the weather channel may have brought me increased anxiety as a result of a presentation on global warming or something else I might disagree with. I simply can’t get away from it: opinion is taking over the world. I have concluded that my frustration with the opinion craze is not that people are sharing their opinion too much, but that I can’t share mine. When I talk back to the TV or radio I feel stupid and even more frustrated since they can’t hear me. So it is with great appreciation that I offer to the Internet Monk and the cyber universe some of my own opinions. Up till now, Fox news and all other media venues have shown no interest. Here is your chance to click the “x” and surf somewhere else. In no particular order, these are my 50 opinions for the day. 1) I believe George Bush is a true American hero. 2) I think some of the best basketball being played today is in the NCAA Division II ranks. 3) I think a civil war is possible in this country over the ideology differences of liberals and conservatives. 4) I think atheism is far better for Christianity than TBN. 5) The book “Seabiscuit” is the best biography I have ever read. 6) I believe old albums with the scratches sound better than CD’s and were a lot more fun to buy. 7) I believe passing kidney stones is worse pain than childbirth. 8) I think we wash clothes too much. 9) I think the person who frightens Bill and Hillary Clinton the most is Buzz Peterson, author of Dereliction of Duty. 10) I believe drug trafficking and use are much more common than we could ever imagine. 11) I think a majority of “worship choruses” sung in church today should be eliminated. 12) The thing I am most proud of about my children being in an inner city public school is that they have met and befriended people of different races, socio-economic levels, and religions. 13) I believe the insurance industry (car, home, life, and health) is the biggest economic scam upon people in civilization’s long history. 14) I believe seeing a jockey riding a horse down the stretch, using his whip and urging the horse to the finish line, is the coolest thing in all of sports. 15) I believe Roberto Clemente was a better baseball player than Willie Mays and possibly the best all-around player ever. 16) I think the greatest comedic genius of my lifetime was Red Skelton. 17) I hope Al Sharpton wins the Democratic nomination. He is hilarious! 18) I think Dusty Baker’s comments on blacks being able to handle summer heat better than whites was a racist remark that would have gotten a white manager fired. 19) I believe Truman Capote is overlooked as one of the greatest American fiction writers. (“I could leave the world with this day in my eyes”) 20) I believe the Cohen brothers are geniuses. (“Fargo”, “O Brother Where Art Thou” ) 21) I think it is easier to manage a bald head in the winter than the summer. 22) The majority of parents I know do a really good job with their kids. 23) The majority of kids I know do a really good job dealing with their parents. 24) The only person I can describe unequivocally as “one of a kind” was Walt Disney. 25) I believe Oprah Winfrey, beyond everything else she owns or has achieved, wishes she were white. 26) I think the biggest career mistake Ellen DeGeneres made was coming out of the closet. She is a marvelous talent that took some really bad advice from someone. 27) I believe Elvis, John Kennedy, and Tupac are really dead. 28) I am of the opinion that abortion is wrong. 29) I believe that having children was simultaneously the greatest and worst thing that ever happened to me. 30) I think that if the Dixie Chicks had sincerely and immediately apologized rather than defended their comments, their careers could have been saved and the incident forgotten by now. 31) I think the janitors in my school deserve a raise – not the teachers. 32) I don’t believe women’s athletics will ever be accepted as equal to men’s in the view of the common fan. Not ever! 33) I think Baptists need to drink a small glass of wine now and then to loosen up! (Or whatever will do the job- Editor) 34) I don’t really care whether my hometown has a casino or not. It really does not matter to me and I am not going to hold a picket sign to keep it out. 35) I also think it’s stupid holding a picket sign supporting pro-life or pro-choice causes. I doubt that it will change anyone’s opinion. 36) I don’t know of any single issue that I would be willing to publicly hold a sign in support of or against. 37) Of all the musicians who have died at a young age, the one I miss the most and would love to hear from today is Christian artist Keith Green. 38) It is presumptuous of me to think I understand black people. 39) The one theological question that gives me the most trouble is, “Can God really count the grains of sand on a beach?” I’ve been on a few beaches and there are a lot of grains of sand. And if God could, would he really want to? (I’m very sure he can count the hairs on my head). 40) I think NASA should plan a manned mission to Mars soon! 41) I believe Sammy Sosa lied when he said that he never used corked bats before the night he broke one. 42) From all indications, LeBron James seems to be well grounded and will be successful, if the NBA doesn’t ruin him like so many others. 43) I think college football should have a playoff system. 44) I believe someone needs to tell churches to remove those stupid signs with the cute sayings that are supposed to make people think. They embarrass me. 45) It is my personal opinion that a movie is much better at the theater while eating a box of “Red Hots”. 46) I think the person or persons who stole the table from my back yard last week should come back and get the chairs as well. I won’t even say anything. 47) The scariest thing for me about having a 14 year old daughter is knowing what was continuously going through my mind as a 14 year old boy. 48) Tommy Franks makes me wish I was a soldier. 49) The one and only regret I have about getting older is that I don’t laugh as much as I use to. 50) I think I should probably keep my opinions to myself. There you have it. I feel much better, as if I finally fit into the human race again. On behalf of all the opinionated people of world, Thanks!
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