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Hi Gang.
I recently added a "George W. Bush" days left in office countdown timer to the bottom of our home page. Since I'm "The Decider" in this arena, and I got carried away with the idea, I just did it. I've received a response from someone who felt it was inappropriate, not for the political sentiment it suggested, but for the fact that it was political at all. I understand their point of view. So now I'm curious about how the rest of you feel. I'm going to copy the email that I received, below, and follow that with my response. Then, if you would, let me know how you felt about the addition to the web page. I'd like to categorize the responses with as few words as possible, like "offensive", "humorous", and "unimportant", but feel free to express yourself however you'd like. I will count the responses, and reveal them in about a week. Your identities will not be revealed, although any interesting comments could be shared with the group.
Regards, George.
First - the comment about the web page:
Whatever my political views, I do not believe your addition to the website is appropriate. It can only make for divisiveness amongst the members of this list. I believe it should be dedicated, as the URL suggests, strictly biking around Long Island. If you feel the need to get into politics, then restrict it to political matters related to cycling.
Now, my response:
Thanks for your input. I had mixed feelings about doing this. During the years that we've had the website I've avoided political statements, and recently have even tried to narrow down the events that I list to those that occur on Long Island. After all, we are "Bike Around Long Island". Over time, I've added other links on our home page that are completely unrelated to or main focus, but that I thought might interest some. These include Long Island's Last Stand (addresses environmental concerns, as per The Nature Conservancy), Catalog Choice (to help you reduce the number of paper catalogs you receive in the mail), and the Living To 100 Life Expectancy Calculator. These are all important issues, in my opinion. Since our group is not a typical organization, we have no board of governing members, or any such structure. It's just my friends and I, having good times together, and enjoying each other's company. As for maintaining the website, planning rides, etc., it's just me. The countdown is to an event that should be important to everyone, regardless whether it's the departure of the current president, or the arrival of someone you look forward to as our next leader.
Your comments are duly noted, and as you can see, I've taken some time to think about it. This is probably the first controversy I've been able to stir up in over 27 years. I'm curious about how my other friends have reacted to this, so I'm going to consider presenting this to the 130 members in our Yahoo group for their comments. I won't use your name, if I do.
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