Funny you say that, because that's exactly why I come here -- I want to hear people come out and say the things they're thinking of saying but wouldn't because it would violate some social guideline. I was having a conversation with a libertarian the other day (in fact it actually was a dinner party) and I kept getting the feeling that on certain points he /wanted/ to go to logical extremes (as did I) but didn't, because if we had gone there we'd inevitably end up talking about some pretty heavy stuff, including my country's history and how we mistreated many people. But the reality is that it actually is really hard talking about these things face-to-face (it is, at least to me). Online, where most memory is ephemeral as concerns people's identities on large forums, you don't know my race, religion, creed - you're not going to waste mental power trying to word things so that I don't get offended, you'll just come out and say what you mean. That's really what I want. But even I can't do this in real life (or at least, have significant trouble doing it), so I come here... and other places online to talk about those things. Because, if I'm not talking about these things at the dinner table, then where else would I talk about them if not online?
I'd rather that we just get down and dirty, in an honest and direct manner. We often sacrifice progress on many issues by getting set back by social rules. Let's stop doing that.
