I absolutely loathe the word “blog.” Yes, I know it’s derived from the term “Web Log.” Very clever. It sounds like a bodily function resulting in a discharge of some sort. Actually, it’s pretty accurate in that regard.

For the longest time (a long time being the equivalent of the Internet hitting the mainstream about ten years ago), one of the biggest criticisms of public expression on the Internet was the lack of accountability.

Haxxo4zruleZ could hide behind his shield of anonymity and spew idiotic hatred left and right before it was his bedtime. But since...(ugh)...“blogging” has become so popular, the citizens of the World Wide Web are beginning to make a trade.

Rather than spew mind excretion with no worry of real-world repercussions, bloggers (a part of me dies every time I’m forced to use the b-word) have traded the safety of anonymity for the possibility of validation and attention. Finally! People as whiny and pathetic as you and you can create your own echo chamber! You may get fired for calling your boss a mild pile of life-juice, but don’t you feel better about yourself?

I understand there’s a need to vent. We all have pet peeves but it seems like recently we’ve all been petting our peeves a little too much. The key word we need to keep in mind is perspective. Yes, there will always be people worse off than you, but we can’t go ballistic because there’s one too many car commercials on TV or because Joe Dante searches for a project while Adam Shankman thrives.

But you must remember to keep things in perspective. I don’t want to keep repeating this point so I’m going to say it once as clear and as loud as I can: Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. Not all opinions are equal.

People need to learn that you can have an opinion and be wrong.

Know that others can have opinions and be wrong. Everything is not relative and a NASA scientist has more credibility than me when he says the moon is not made of green cheese and there are no “Moon Commies” coming to get us.

Also, you have to know why you’re writing. Are you simply shouting at the wind because you can or are you actually looking for some feedback? Are you trying to become the next Harvey Pekar minus the originality and charm?

While I’ve come to be fairly disgusted with the film, American History X does have an excellent line: Hate is baggage. Just look at this article. You couldn’t get this on an airplane.

As the blogosphere (wow, the word is the unwanted gift that keeps on hating) keeps expanding, just try to use your freedom of speech wisely because if you’re only writing for yourself, then why are you broadcasting it to the world?