It's not exactly like that...

You could see the lessons I was trying to teach, the way I saw the world, the traits I valued, the concepts I believed in, how highly I thought of myself.  But if there was anything I was good at, it was making myself, well, not exactly like that...

For anything I believed in, I made sure to argue harder for the opposite side.  I couldn't always do it perfectly, but I did try.  The result was that I had no problem accepting other people's views.  Anything I believed in became just a preference; I wasn't set in my beliefs and I wasn't really opposed to the opposite views.  So I preferred not to see people attacked or scorned or hurt unnecessarily (a preference that has led, and will lead to, many posts), but I didn't disregard other views.  What's unnecessary?  What if it helps someone else?  What if things are better that way?

Contrary to what it might occasionally seem, there was never any lesson to learn here.  I wasn't telling anyone to change or calling anyone wrong.  I wasn't saying I was right.  I was just putting out things to consider.  Maybe you think about them and agree, or maybe you disagree completely.  Maybe you don't consider them at all.  I'm not saying that any of those are wrong.

And of course I considered that maybe this wasn't the best way.  I mean, if I knew I was right, then I ought to say that I'm right, not have to say well maybe it's this, maybe not.  If the world was making a mistake, then I should tell the world to change.  It should be, "This is the flaw, and if you disagree, you're not thinking it through properly.  No maybe's."  Yeah, I didn't disregard the opinion that that was a better way to live.  What could I say?  Maybe it was.