I'm asked that a lot because of this column. People sometimes tend to not be very nice when they criticize a column I've written and those people close to me, those people who care about me, often ask me how it makes me feel when I hear or read the biting, stinging, often personal criticisms of others.

I've sort of gone through a transition about this over the many years I've written a column for this newspaper. In the beginning, it meant a lot to me about how people saw me, felt about me and defined me, not only as a person but as a columnist too. In fact, I used to answer criticisms of me with my own rebuttals but I don't do that anymore. In fact, I don't even read the criticisms made about me and my perspectives, much like our current president.

I know who I am and I know what I believe and I'm fortunate enough to be able to share those opinions and perspectives with the readership of this paper. In fact, when I first hired on, the newspaper's editor encouraged me to always express my opinions in my column because if I didn't say it, no one would ever hear it because of the personal and political bent of this region.

So that's what I do. I write my columns from my perspective; not to enrage, inflame, or insult the citizenry of this region but because I tend to see things from another point of view. I was taught early and often in my younger years that there are always two sides to the coin and at least two perspectives to any given position or situation. What I present in this column each week are my perspectives. They come from my heart and my mind and my soul and are thoroughly thought out before you have the opportunity to read them, whether you agree with any of them or not.

I'm teaching a Sociology of Rock 'n Roll class at the college this semester and we recently watched a video where numerous musicians said that their very best lyrics and music came from their own hearts, instead of trying to anticipate what others wanted to hear. That is also how writers write. We write from our own hearts and our own souls and we trust there are some people in the readership who understand where we're coming from.

Does criticism hurt? Of course it does. I don't know many people who set out intentionally to make enemies. Most people desire to be liked, admired, respected, even loved. But that alone is not what gives us our uniqueness or our humanity. There comes a time when we must declare what we believe in, either to our family, or our friends, or the world. By writing a column, every columnist is declaring what THEY believe in. Gloria Masoner writes about her family life, Dawn Cribbs about her spiritual life, Dick Trail about life as he sees it. That's what writers do.

The consequence of my columns is writing about perspectives, ideas, and attitudes that aren't widely shared by this particular populace. While I voted for Obama for President, 74 percent of the voters in Red Willow County voted for John McCain and the numbers were even higher for McCain in counties surrounding Red Willow County. So I know that many of my ideas, perspectives, norms and values are not shared by at least three fourths of the population I live in and around.

I see this and experience this on a daily basis. Not only from the letters to the editor in both the print and online editions of the paper but by people I encounter personally. It doesn't warm a person's heart to be snubbed and ignored by people you don't even know except they believe they know ME by the things I write in this column.

Most of the people who take the time to get to know me don't react one way or another to the columns I write because they know the whole person instead of just the things they read that I write. But I've also lost friends because of either my columns, the choices I make in my life or both so getting to know me isn't foolproof either.

We're all sensitive to criticism; me maybe more than most which is probably difficult for those of you who don't know me to understand. But those of you who do understand completely.