Welcome to the pondering headquarters on this end of the block. I come out here on the back porch to clear my mind, divest myself of the day’s concerns but that doesn’t always happen. Truth is the mind never takes a break…now thinking all the time can be a burden, that’s is why I am so fond of pondering. You who know me know I love to play with words…I like to ponder about things, which in reality is no more than taking time to access the the situation before acting and also delays having to make a decision or commitment. (I am thinking about it.) Another way of putting it would be to follow the Oxford Languages definition…think about (something) carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. Now after having done all this pondering you are ready for the next step. You can now announce that you have arrived at an OPINION. For those in government, positions of authority or imagined importance, this gives you another opportunity to delay somewhat any kind of commitment. By having an opinion you have expressed a feeling, an attitude, a value judgment, or a belief. It is a statement that is neither true nor false. Or it may feel true for some, but false for others. As I ponder this tonight here on the back porch I have arrived at an opinion about having an opinion! This is important…trust me. I fear the death of opinion, that’s right, the death of opinion. Now let me explain that…how would that even be possible? Having an opinion in these days is a hazardous endeavor. There will always be those of a differing opinion and that   should be expected but the difference now is the lack of civility and respect for other opinions. The daily news for which I usually require a table spoon of Malox before and after consumption proves my opinion of the state of opinion these days. Just recently a young woman’s opinion about trans-gender influence in sports was to speak at a school of higher learning. Her table display was destroyed and also turned over. There have been other cases where displays and even appearances by those of differing opinions have had to be taken  down, resulting also in the canceling of the appearance because of security concerns. Now I will not burden you with numbers, serves no purpose and that is my opinion. What was it that Rodney King said years ago? Can’t we all just get along? The answer to that Rodney is no, and that Sir is not an opinion…It is a FACT. Come back next week to the Back Porch.

jk