[chrissreef]

/sigh

I was just trying to say that if one brings too much emotion into something... the person one is trying to communicate with will stop listening and have a high potential to go into a situation where they become defensive... which is opposite the intended purpose. discussion is also different than persuasion or debate. someone can be passionate/emotional about a particular subject but when speaking to someone of the opposite stance, its use should be used sparingly. (and yes i'm very passionate about the environment - but I refuse to be radical and irrational toward non-believers)

ex: father gets emotional about his daughter staying out late rather than speak to her respectfully and calmly.

ex2: christian is in a muslim church speaking about christianity... not a good time to use emotion

ex3: accused murder victim becomes emotional/irate about their innocence in front of a jury vs speaking non-emotionally and calmly

point - be respectful of everyone's opinion (factual or not) because your own opinion is just that... an opinion.

anyway, this topic has sadly gone down a bad tangent =(