I'm tired of being part of this "Politically Correct" world. We aren't allowed to say "retard"; it's become "mentally handicapped" or a person with "special learning needs". We can't say someone is faster or stronger than anyone else, as in younger children's sports, where more and more often you see participation ribbons being handed out, rather than first, second, or third place trophies. What is the world coming to? What kind of world do we live in now, that we can only voice our thoughts and feelings if we excuse ourselves before we even make ourselves heard? Why do we have to say "Oh, I'm just saying ..." or "This is only my opinion, but ..." or "I don't mean to sound rude, but ..." ? I think I'm a pretty easy-going person, and I'm up for pretty much anything. I'm not too particular on what I do when I hang out with people, where we go, or what we eat, or whatever. I do things sometimes that I don't want to, but I do them because they need to be done, for whatever reason. I keep my opinion to myself most of the time, because most of the time, I either don't have an opinion, or honestly believe that my opinion would not make any difference, and therefor has no point in being shared. I cannot stand any kind of argument, and I hate confrontation, especially if it's unnecissary or pointless. BUT - when I do have an opinion on something, I'm not going to be one of those wishy-washy "This is just my opinion, and I'll throw it out there, but I won't defend it if someone else wants to throw it around and beat it up." kind of people. No. If I'm going to go out on a limb and say what I think, I'm going to say what I think, and I'm going to defend that thought until there's no one left to defend it against. I'm not saying I'm a hard-headed person, who isn't open to new and different point of views. I'm okay with changing my opinion, if the person I'm discussing/debating/arguing with has insightful and credeble information that makes their opinion more appealing than mine. That's fine with me. What I don't like is all the people my age who think something simply because "That's just the way things are/have always been." or because "SoandSo said it, so it must be true." or especially because "My parents always believed that, so I guess I do, too (I was raised that way and I don't know how to think for myself/outside the box)." Those are not acceptable reasons for forming opinions. Not at all. The whole basis of having an opinion is knowing what you think so that you might share what you think with someone else if you have the desire. How can you give your opinion if you don't THINK?