Say what you like, like what you say!

Nobody can truthfully say they have lived a life without regrets, but as mature adults we can accept responsibility for our actions and learn from our mistakes. In the real world memories fade and life goes on but online we leave behind a (near) permanent record of our every virtual movement. We post our thoughts and feelings on blogs, forums, chatrooms etc and communicate in ways that we never could in the real world, confident in the anonymity of a non-face-to-face medium.

And then sometimes, we look back at what we said and wish we hadn't, perhaps we have dropped our reserve and said something that could compromise our carefully constructed image or maybe we have let rip about something we feel strongly about but normally bite our lips rather than risk offending people. Who hasn't woken up hungover and thought "did i really do that?"

But, when it comes to talking about the things that matter to you there should be no regrets, if you have strong opinions on certain subjects it is only right to express those opinions regardless of whether everyone agrees with them. It is through challenging the ideas and norms that circulate within our society that our culture and collective knowledge evolves.

Take my own opinions on religion for example, should anybody really be offended by anything i post when the underlying message is that of tolerance and respect? Yet, all over the internet we find (religious and non-religious) examples of bigotry, hatred and ignorance. Surely no-one can truly take offense to me. So i will continue to post my thoughts on the things that matter to me, and if that means i lose a few potential fans, well i guess they don't understand my music fully anyway.

I encourage everyone to take pride in themselves and what they have to say. If your opinions matter to you then they will surely matter to the people that know you, perhaps you could be the one to spark the next big debate. Perhaps your (real or virtual) voice will help to sow the seeds of change. Its all too easy to be apathetic and quietly accept things, but in this era of the www its really not hard to speak up and be heard.

The internet provides us with the closest thing to free speech that exists in this world, unfortunately that freedom means not everyone will like everything that gets said but we have to accept that and exercise our freedom to challenge that which is wrong. Then, maybe, we can move toward a better world.