sporkin'

I don't want to shove my beliefs down your throat, but... everyone does it to me -

NPR and Fox news tell me what politicians to like - people around me are constantly telling me what they believe is the best football team in the world - people tell me what they believe is the correct way to cook a steak - what they believe is the best flavor of ice cream - what movie is good - what tv show is horrible
-in fact my tv tells me what the ideal woman looks like - what I should wear - how I should speak - what my relationships could be like - the improbability that bad choices will really affect me in a way that matters - how I should spend my time and money - where to shop - where to eat - what to eat and how to eat it (do you think people who eat Chinese food with chop sticks are being A: pretentious B: a show off or C: someone who enjoys trying out other cultures and their way of doing things?)

You can argue about pro-life, pro-death, the economy, welfare, sports and religion. If you disagree with me...you're close minded. If you agree with me...you're open minded, a free thinker, and smart. I love it when I hear people say that I'm close minded because I disagree with them. I also sort of giggle inside when I hear someone say, "you don't know because you're not (fill in the blank)" Really? I'm not allowed to have an opinion about that because I'm not (blank)? What if I find one human being on the Planet Earth that is (blank) that agrees with me? Is my opinion then suddenly validated?
It's, in my opinion, the weakest argument ever made. If I hear it I know I'm talking to someone who doesn't really care about getting to the truth of the matter...they just want to win the argument and are out of ammo.

Which leads me to my point - Forks dominate the chop sticks. I could make an equally persuasive argument about sporks over forks...but that's not why we're here today, is it?

When I'm in an Irish restaurant, I don't feel like I have to wear a big wool sweater, order a Guinness and berate the English. I just sit down and enjoy that sweet sweet taste of boiled meat products and boiled potato products.

Don't try and tell me I'm stereotyping my people, you can't speak to this subject because you're not Irish...