If you trim your sails, you appease those who lack the honesty and decency to disagree on the merits, but prefer to engage in personal attacks. A good argument diluted to avoid criticism is not nearly as good as the undiluted argument, because we best arrive at truth through a process of honest and vigorous debate. Arguments should not sneak around in disguise, as if dissent were somehow sinister. One should not be cowed by criticism.

In my humble opinion, those who come to engage in debates of consequence, and who challenge accepted wisdom, should expect to be treated badly. Nonetheless, they must stand undaunted. That is required. And, that should be expected. For, it is bravery that is required to secure freedom.

…But, there is much wisdom that requires no genius. It takes no education and no great intellect to know that it is best for children to be raised in two parent families. Yet, those who dare say this are often accused of trying to impose their values on others. This condemnation does not rest on some great body of counter evidence; it is purely and simply an in-your-face response. It is, in short, intimidation. For brutes, the most effective tactic is to intimidate an opponent into the silence of self-censorship.

…Even if one has a valid position, and is intellectually honest, he has to anticipate nasty responses aimed at the messenger rather than the argument. The objective is to limit the range of the debate, the number of messengers, and the size of the audience. The aim is to pressure dissenters to sanitize their message, so as to avoid being subjected to hurtful ad hominem criticism. Who wants to be calumniated? It's not worth the trouble.

But is it worth it? Just what is worth it, and what is not? If one wants to be popular, it is counterproductive to disagree with the majority. If one just wants to tread water until the next vacation, it isn't worth the agony. If one just wants to muddle through, it is not worth it. In my office, a little sign reads: "To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing."

None of us really believes that the things we fear discussing honestly these days are really trivial-and the reaction of our critics shows that we are right. If our dissents are so trivial, why are their reactions so intense? If our ideas are trivial why the headhunting? Like you, I do not want to waste my time on the trivial. I certainly have no desire to be browbeaten and intimidated for the trivial.

What makes it all worthwhile? What makes it worthwhile is something greater than all of us. There are those things that at one time we all accepted as more important than our comfort or discomfort-if not our very lives: Duty, honor country! There was a time when all was to be set aside for these. The plow was left idle, the hearth without fire, the homestead, abandoned.

We all share a reasonable and, in many ways, admirable, reluctance to leave the safety and peacefulness of private life to take up the larger burdens and challenges of active citizenship. The price is high, and it is easier and more enjoyable to remain within the shelter of our personal lives and our local communities, rather than the larger state. To enter public life is to step outside our more confined, comfortable sphere of life, and to face the broader, national sphere of citizenship. What makes it all worthwhile is to devote ourselves to the common good.

When one observes the pitched battles that rage around persons of strong convictions, who do not accept the prevailing beliefs of others, it is no wonder that those who might otherwise wish to participate find more hospitable outlets for their civic interests.

…During my youth there were many wonderful sayings, now considered trite, that provided cryptic, yet prescient guidance for my life. Among them was one based on Luke 12:48: "To whom much is given of him much is required." Perhaps such sentiments are embarrassing in sophisticated company today, but I continue to believe this with all my heart.

I do believe that we are required to wade into those things that matter to our country and our culture, no matter what the disincentives are, and no matter the personal cost. There is not one among us who wants to be set upon, or obligated to do and say difficult things. Yet, there is not one of us who could in good conscience stand by and watch a loved one or a defenseless person-or a vital national principle-perish alone, undefended, when our intervention could make all the difference. This may well be too dramatic an example. But nevertheless, put most simply: if we think that something is dreadfully wrong, then someone has to do something.

…I do not believe that one should fight over things that don't really matter. But what about those things that do matter? It is not comforting to think that the natural tendency inside us is to settle for the bottom, or even the middle of the stream.

This tendency, in large part, results from an overemphasis on civility. None of us should be uncivil in our manner as we debate issues of consequence. No matter how difficult it is, good manners should be routine. However, in the effort to be civil in conduct, many who know better actually dilute firmly held views to avoid appearing "judgmental." They curb their tongues not only in form but also in substance. The insistence on civility in the form of our debates has the perverse effect of cannibalizing our principles, the very essence of a civil society.

…We must not allow our desire to be decent and well-mannered people to overwhelm the substance of our principles or our determination to fight for their success.

…Again, by yielding to a false form of "civility," we sometimes allow our critics to intimidate us. As I have said, active citizens are often subjected to truly vile attacks; they are branded as mean-spirited, racist, Uncle Tom, homophobic, sexist, etc. To this we often respond (if not succumb), so as not to be constantly fighting, by trying to be tolerant and nonjudgmental-i.e., we censor ourselves. This is not civility. It is cowardice, or well-intentioned self-deception at best.

…Listen to the truths that lie within your hearts, and be not afraid to follow them wherever they may lead you.

Those three little words hold the power to transform individuals and change the world. They can supply the quiet resolve and unvoiced courage necessary to endure the inevitable intimidation.

…I have become afraid to express my opinion on this particular subject - and expressing my view is what I'm paid to do.

…This is an opinion column, and what follows may conflict with other opinions in this newspaper. I sense a danger in the way the media at large have become so willing to spread the gay message. I fear the danger to the adolescent suffering through the confusion created by the hormonal kickstarting of new emotions and desire.

…I believe that if a kid finds release from his or her new sex drive in same-sex relationships it can become a habit.

…A bad habit. Like all bad habits, it can make one's life miserable. I don't know the cause of homosexuality and accept many are simply born that way. There are many theories, and I'm entitled to mine. I believe that in many cases homosexuality can be an addiction, like alcoholism, that the afflicted can't or won't shake.

…Television is not giving a complete picture of the gay scene. It shows the straight community from trailer-trash to penthouse, but it seldom shows the same range in the gay community. Where are the leather freaks who'll kick your eyebrows off if you look at them in some wrong way?

…I sense danger in the new world of promiscuity. Television characters, gay and straight, are constantly hunting for sex, not permanent relationships. The message is that genitalia is the on-switch that turns the body into an amusement park. It's an endless search for turn-ons.

…There is no greater turn-on or sex enhancer than love. There really is such a thing. You just won't currently find much of it in television sitcoms.

…It isn't that I'm not keeping up with the times. I just don't like what I'm seeing. The OK-to-be-gay message is too prevalent and adding to the confusion overload that goes with adolescence.