Personal Challenges

["Ray & Barb Elliston" <raymondj@travel-net.com>]

	I have taken reasonable care to couch this post in terms that are intended
not to offend anyone.  While some members may be entertained, or even
titillated, by the type of personal vitriol that occasionally takes over
Ridecamp I am sure the majority can do without it.  When I started lurking
on Ridecamp approximately 18 months ago it was in the midst of one of the
great debates concerning feeding philosophy, and initially I took exception
to the tone of some of the posts.  However, I reminded myself that I was
attempting to glean valuable information on horses and horsemanship from a
host of folks eminently more qualified than myself.
	During almost 35 years in the army I had occasion to discuss myriad issues
with literally thousands of people, many of whom held views as strong or
stronger than my own (as the saying goes, "arguing with an infantry officer
is like wrestling with a pig; everyone gets dirty, and the pig loves it).
In such circumstances one learns to listen carefully to what is said,
without dwelling overly long on how it is said.  At the end of the day
everyone should have had the opportunity of airing his or her opinion, and
all participants are then free to extract the wheat from the chaff, and take
their own decisions on the basis of the information presented.  In my
experience, regardless of how strongly any issue is debated there is no
black or white solution; virtually every solution is some shade of gray, and
one quickly learns not to take decisions on the basis of how strongly any
one case has been argued.  That is not to suggest, however that one should
not argue his or her points with the utmost vigour, simply that when someone
else does so, others should not take what is said personally.  More to the
point, a knock down, drag-em-out argument between two or more knowledgeable
persons should not be taken as an invitation for all the rest of the camp to
immediately begin championing one or the other, particularly if such support
is based solely on personality or tone.
	I don't know any of you personally, and you surely do not know me so,
hopefully, I have been able to provide a modicum of objectivity to the
discussion.  If not, feel free to challenge my points.

Ray Elliston
AERC # M20114

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