As an editor for Fire Society, I am expected to be a neutral voice of reason. In my last blog, I wrote a letter to Ron Paul offering him my support on his journey towards the Presidency.

It was misunderstood... and to some extent. it was supposed to be.

This revelation will relieve some, upset some, and even though it is not meant to, discourage some.

I wrote my letter to get people talking about an often misunderstood, and in the case of Fire Society, often attacked, candidate.

I have not decided who I will vote for, however I believe that Ron Paul does have some good ideas and my letter was meant to highlight some of those ideas.

I had originally intended to write a 'letter' to each candidate, expressing my support on their journey, thanking them for bringing their opinions and ideas to the political theater, and offering them good wishes. However, it was brought to my attention that this could do more to confuse, than help.

I realized as well from the discussion on my article that Fire Society is full of very passionate people. Whereas it is good to be passionate about our ideas, opinions, and candidates, this tends to lead to a habit of reaction towards opposing ideas, instead of a course of thoughtful debate.

The main question for me now as an editor and administrator is 'Where do I go from here?' I support and desire to encourage debate,  however when emotions flare, so do tempers and we then are no longer the stage for debate, we become the stage of the Jerry Springer Show, where people gather just to see who will get slapped next.

Fire Society was created as a place to harness the power of the grassroots community. Give people a place to discuss issues that are important to them, then others will come too, allowing the small spark of one person to grow into the next "Where the Fence?" brush fire that sweeps the nation.

The problem I see now is that instead of being a place that encourages discussion and thoughtful communication, Fire Society is breaking down into a mishmash of fractured 'clics' that then castigate anyone who would dare to differ in opinion.

How can we as a community even think we will achieve a brush fire large enough to wake up the Senate, or Congress, if anytime someone starts something we decide that it's better to throw water on their fire, because it may be bigger than ours?

The newsletter I sent out last Friday was focused on the tone of Fire Society. This is a major issue for me because it pains me to see a thread break down into the kind of petty squabling that I would expect to see from my kids, instead of from my friends here at FS.

Let's concentrate more on how we say things, and also just as importantly, how we read things. Text has no 'Tone of Voice' so it is easy to think someone said something one way, when they meant it another. If we refuse to react, and instead just respond, I think we will be headed towards a strong community that can accomplish much.

Thank You
Sean Ivy
Fire Society Editor.