Facebook friends, I am probably going to piss you off

I mean, I'm just trying to be fair and upfront and everything. See, I get quite a few friend requests based on comments I've left on the Facebook pages of friends or groups, or maybe because of a common "like" (think: interest). Because I like to both 1) boost my friend count (kidding...kinda) and 2) genuinely love to meet new people (not kidding), I usually accept them, as long as we have a few common friends or several good interests in common, and as long as I don't see any spammy or stalky red flags in their profile.

My belief system makes perfect sense to me, but it must not do the same for the rest of the world, because I don't seem to fit into any crowd or group. This allows me the opportunity of associating with a wide variety of people. I tend to believe this is a good thing. However, because my own opinions, viewpoints, associations, and interests run the gamut, it also leaves me open to the occasional "you aren't who I thought you were" situation. So I'm going to play Truth or Dare (without the Dare) and spill some guts so that we're all on the same page and I can't be blamed for masquerading as someone I'm not.

Here goes...

Patriot friends, I am indeed a fellow Tea-partying Patriot, whooping it up with the best of them. However, I am not Christian. I celebrate Christmas and I empathize with people who find the censoring of Christmas offensive (I find it offensive myself to censor anyone's holiday or religious expression), but please don't get freaked out, sad, or scared for my well-being when I make references to my Wiccanism, Buddhism, or otherwise non-Christianity. Yes, I mention God, and speak of a belief in God. I do not believe Jesus is my lord and savior. Nor do I believe I'm going to hell for holding different beliefs.

Liberal-intellectual friends, I am indeed Constitutional/Libertarian. However, I do lean rather consistently to the right. I do side with PETA or the ACLU, and I do believe in all kinds of individual freedoms. I also fully support homosexuality as a lifestyle choice and physiological predisposition. I find religious, philosophical, racial, genetic, ethnic, and cultural diversity and variety to be a strong asset. I'm borderline-pathologically against animal testing. However, I also own guns, drive a V8 pickup, love Texas, eat meat, oppose abortion, and support the death penalty. I will never be a vegetarian or a progressive, nor will I ever drive a flex-fuel or hybrid vehicle or outfit my lamps with CFL light bulbs or my house with low-flow toilets. Sorry, that's just the way it is. I'm a mixed bag.

Canadian friends, I do think many things are better in Canada. I mean, after all, you have Timmie's! And your radio stations are much better than ours, as are your music video channels. I also admire that your chiropractic board exams are tougher than ours. I love your music scenes and your summertime fairs. Much of our good organic and gluten-free foods come from Canada. Your malls mop the floor with ours. But sometimes, I think certain things about Canada stink. The healthcare system is only good if you don't have to use it. It's only "free" if you don't work or drive. The taxes are downright scary, the weather is cold, and the winter days are too short. I don't know how anyone there gets any Vitamin D. I love your diversity, but I can't stand the lack of will, work ethic, and gumption. There just doesn't seem to be any passion sometimes. I mean, really, is writing a letter the best you can do? :)

American friends, I do like this country and I'm usually proud to call it my home. I pledge allegiance to what the flag originally stood for. Both grandfathers served in World War II; one of them fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I love the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I love our Founders and their philosophy, and how they toiled and bickered over every detail, ensuring maximum fairness and common-sense every step of the way. But I can't say I'm proud of what this country has become. I strongly disapprove of practically every administration since Reagan. I think we're headed the wrong direction, and I can't say that I'd pledge allegiance to the flag if it stands for what America is today. I think we've become greedy, morally bankrupt, intellectually deficient, pretentious, rude, hostile, and somewhat animalistic. I think our priorities are messed up, our food supply is devoid, our information sources are grossly influenced, and our leaders are corrupt and self-serving. I'm strongly against this healthcare crap, the "green" movement and what it has produced, the altering of language in cooperation with the PC movement, the migration of jobs to China and India, and the gradual takeover of Muslim and atheist cultures.

Chiropractic friends, I love chiropractic. I love the philosophy that the power that made the body heals the body and that given the right raw materials and opportunity, the body will heal itself. We see this all the time when we break bones or tear skin or other tissue. I also understand that chiropractic adjustments have much greater and more far-reaching effects than simple pain relief or specific joint realignment. I get that. However, I am NOT a straight chiropractic doctor. I disapprove of the concept of "subluxations" or the "Vertebral Subluxation Complex". I do not claim to cure everything, nor do I claim to only "detect and correct subluxations". Please. We're doctors, like it or not; let's do better than that. I also don't believe that an adjustment is ALL it takes to achieve good health. I'm living proof to the contrary, having been adjusted on a regular basis while watching my health continue to decline. Obviously, straight DCs are not telling the whole story. Either they don't have the whole story, or they're spinning information. And all the practice management, coaching, seminars, marketing groups, or motivational tapes are not going to change any of that. They sound great, but do little over the long-term.

Conventional medical-minded and super-scientific friends, I understand there's a time and place for allopathic medicine and whatnot. I understand that claims should not be definitively made about a method of treatment (or anything else) until the research data have been collected. I understand that there's fraud, snake oil, and unfounded claims in alternative medicine. I understand that there are flaky people who believe some crazy things and that some of those people may not be completely mentally present and balanced. Yep, I get that. However, please don't cling too tightly to conventional medicine (or plain old science, whichever the case may be) there are also fraud, snake oil, and unfounded claims in conventional medicine, too - and there is also often an agenda in science, as a segment of scientists races to attempt to establish definitive proof that there IS no God. I mean, come on. There's a lot out there we haven't discovered yet and don't understand. It's not smart to deny its existence just because we haven't advanced enough yet to detect and measure it.

So there you have it. Full disclosure. You've been warned :)