With the expansion of the Blogosphere, I think it more important than ever that those who participate in this new medium understand our rights and responsibilities. While I enjoy reading blogs from college students who give us daily updates on their life journey (I really don't), there are a growing number of bloggers, like myself, who are here to challenge others and to be challenged with new ideas, thoughts, commentary, and debate. Hopefully, these rules, called The Intellectual Bill of Rights, will prove as valuable for you as they have for me. Here they are:
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THE INTELLECTUAL BILL OF RIGHTS
YOUR RIGHTS:
- You have the right to not care. If the topic is boring, you have the right to state, "I don't want to talk about this further."
- You have the right to not understand something without being made to feel stupid. You have the right to say: "I don't understand, could you please clarify your point?”
- You have the right to be uninformed. If you are discussing a topic with which you are not familiar, simply state: "I am not familiar with that. Why don't you explain it to me?"
- You have the right to make an error. Committing honest errors is inevitable and you have the right to be fallible without having your integrity questioned. Admit "I'm clearly mistaken on that point," then move on.
- You have the right to change your mind. There is no shame in changing your mind. Indeed, it can be a sign of intellectual honesty.
- You have the right to disagree without having to justify yourself. You have the right to state firmly "I disagree" and walk away without explanation - or stay and argue, as you choose.
- You have the right to form an opinion and to express it. You do not need a diploma, permission from your spouse, dispensation from the Church, or a birth certificate listing the "correct" sex. Simply by being human, you have a right to reach conclusions and state them.
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