My say. That's all I want.

I'll tell you why I don't like organized things. Organized anything. Clubs. Fraternities. Political parties. Associations. Churches. Religions. Because they tend to take away my independence. Often, one finds cliques within all these organizations. Yes, groups within groups. Everybody wants some semblance of control over the organization. And I'm for independent voices. Too often, cliques try to gain control. And foist their ways on everyone. Look at political parties, for instance. Such as the Republicans. They're in disarray, in large part, because of the conservative clique. They'd take the GOP down a suicidal path. Just for the sake of ungawdly, idiotic principle. As if their way is the only way. Many religions do the same thing. They are seized by the fanatics. The fringe elements. And away they go. Like lunatics. I see this every day. Even on message boards on the Internet. They become highly intolerant. Bogged down. Restrictive. They'd like to turn all participants into robots. Think-alike robots. They're frightened of dissent. They want everyone to toe the line. To pass a litmus test. As for me, I'll let everyone have their say. That is, as long as they allow me to have my say. --Jim Broede