I'm a free-thinker.

I like to write. Because it forces me to think. I have to put something on paper. Or on the screen in the computer. And I can’t just put down anything. I need a thought. An idea. Something to ponder. So that’s what I do. If I didn’t sit down and write, I’d still think. To some degree. But not nearly to the degree I do when I write. To me, the written word is more sacred than the spoken word. Because it’s more concrete. I can see it. Read it. Come back to it tomorrow or next year. It’s retrievable. Otherwise, some of my thoughts would be gone. Forever, I suspect. Too fleeting. My brain needs assistance. A storehouse of written words. Written thoughts. The written word also allows me to be daring. I can write absolutely anything I want. Oh, what a sense of freedom. If I tried to tell other people some of my thoughts, they might tell me to shut up. That they don’t want to hear it. Or they may brand me as subversive. Or something worse. And they could easily misjudge me. And hold my thoughts against me. Some religions have been known to execute people for heretical thoughts. Imagine that. I think there should be freedom to think anything. As long as one’s ideas aren’t forcibly foisted on others. If other people become riled by a thought, that’s their problem. They should learn to accept free thought. Yes, I call myself a free-thinker. And I am. –Jim Broede