As a brief addition to my most recent post above, I offer the fact that I learned, early on, that there are always at least two (or more) ways to say the same thing.

A wise and caring person will hopefully endeavor to choose the way that
- reconciles rather than divides,
- comes alongside as a friend rather than accuses or stands opposed as an adversary,
- mentions something good even when pointing out a flaw, and
- offers criticism in a helpful constructive way rather than as using a blunt instrument.

I could go on with these, but you get the idea.

Without dragging out our posting guidelines, I offer the above in the spirit in which those guidelines were drafted, and am optimistic that everyone on this message board will continue to approach their posting with this in mind.

Thanks.

CaT


If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)