Hello America, until you read this I am nothing; a whisper, a notion perhaps on the brink of being an idea. I am a newer version American. I say newer because I am not the newest generation, they are still growing up. I write to share ideas, philosophy, ethics and politics of my own and sometimes the devil’s advocate inside me. I wish to share all ideas in the hope of stirring up musings of patriotism. And I am not referring to patriotism in the sense of winning support for the current actions of our great nation. My definition of patriotism is the love of this great nation and all it stands for. This nation is based on the free exchange of ideas and the ability, if need be, to change the status quo through the vote and the democratic process. As I mentioned earlier the free exchange of ideas and by that I mean quote “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” a phrase widely misattributed to Voltaire however the original author is still unknown as far as I can tell. That ends the shameless literary plug to add weight and substance to the column and now back to your regularly scheduled opinion-heavy musings.
        So, I have told you a little about myself but I have yet to outline anything about this column. As I said earlier this is a sharing column and I don’t mean the emotional sharing of feeling and what not, but the sharing of opinions. Now before we go further this is going to be my column and I would like your input. It will be submitted via email and I will read them and publish the ones that I like in the column to discuss. But my word is law so not all letters will be seen by the public. Of course I warn you now, anything that I dub obscene or derogatory will not see the light of day. And I know that you have the right to be offensive and offend people but it is counterproductive to the free exchange of ideas. So, let the games begin.
        Let’s begin with introductions. My name is Orrin and I reside in the Asylum. Here with in the Brotherhood of Odd I am a student of free thinking and the ability of mankind to imagine and put into practice whatever it puts its mind up to. I am also a student of the mob and the mob mentality of groups of people to distort their own sensibilities in order to achieve the common goal. If you are wondering, yes Orrin is a pseudonym, I hear told that it means river in the old English and represents my goal to be a flow of thought to the masses. I find that within the Asylum anonymity is a close friend. So, Orrin, America; America, Orrin. Everyone acquainted? Good. I end with this thought to tide you over until next we meet. Deaf and blind and yet they plunge into the vast expanse of the human race and kill. Watch for the unseen killers of Ignorance, Disbelief and Indifference.