I want you to know that I consider everyone who posts here dear, and I hope I offend no one (and if I should, it is truly accidental) by what I say this morning. I'm pretty sure that all the 'regulars' know how very much Switzerland means to me--why I built it, why I revised it when I opened the new website and how important it is to me that Switzerland succeeds. (If you don't, smail me--I will gladly give you details and/or answer any questions you might have about it.)
I suppose everyone is familiar with the old adage, "You can please some of your family all of the time, all of your family some of the time, but you can't please ALL of your family ALL of the time." (I'm pretty sure I got that right
.) Well, I think that possibly Switzerland (and I) are at an impasse here and now, because I keep trying to please ALL of my Swiss family, ALL of the time, and somewhere, somehow, there's a breakdown. With this post, I hope to avoid misunderstandings in the future. When anyone, and I mean ANY ONE in Switzerland 'leaves the room,' (in anger or hurt) it breaks my heart. Those of you with whom I've developed close personal friendships know more about my personal life (although, I've never been shy about speaking out here about it), and just how deeply I care about about this little place that was created as an escape from those 'other' blog sites.This post, of course, arises from the melodrama that grew from TryThinking's "Get Out and Vote" topic room, which grew into a whiplash of resentment, anger and name-calling. (It's locked now, so those of you who missed it, don't go running over there to see it
.) So rather than going on and on (as I tend to do 
) let me get right to the point.The New Switzerland was built on the requests and suggestions I had received in The Olde Switzerland. My intent, as I mentioned, was for bloggers to have a place to go to talk football (and some other stuff, if that is/was their desire) without fear of intimidation regarding your team or to you personally. In The Olde Switzerland, we were, of course, limited to one board--so if the topic was distasteful, you either had to try to change it, stay and be upset, or just walk away during the time that topic was on the board. It sometimes caused problems, but my publisher had more say than I did in that site, so, it was either for me to accept or set my own site up, which I finally did.
So here we are at the true beauty of The New Switzerland. I thought it was (nearly) perfect. The Swiss Family members have the opportunity to post on whatever topics are on the boards OR open another topic to discuss whatever else you (I, we) cared to visit. So what in the world happened when TryThinking, one of our first family members and as far as I know, pretty much a good friend to all, posted "Get Out and Vote?" I was shocked, hurt and I cannot tell you how distressed. The post, as best I could tell, was non-denominational, innocuous and to the point. TT, who I have spoken with numerous times since this mess started, said it was done in the spirit of public service--had no intention of getting into a political discussion...but my thought is, "So, what if he did want to get political?"
In The Olde Switzerland, politics were verboten because of the one board limitation. There was no where to go if that subject was on the board (and I was the most disobedient blogger--as I believe many of you are already thinking
) when it came to that subject. Most everyone in the Swiss family knows that I am extremely outspoken, especially when it came/comes to politics. So when I saw all the disruption here yesterday over 'Get Out and Vote,' my gut reaction was, "Why is everyone here, yelling about politics in Switzerland?" when all anyone had to do was click back to the 'new posts' or scroll through the many others already up OR even start a new topic. So really, here in The New Switzerland (and you can vote me down here--this is just my thought and I'm throwing it out to you) why can't we talk about politics??? Yes, it is a Football Blog and first and foremost, Switzerland will always be a football blog--but why can't other subjects be introduced in separate rooms that no one ever has to visit should they appear distasteful? As I said, this is the opinion of just one of the Swiss Family and you can easily veto it.For this past couple of days, I have been obsessed with "how can I fix my dear Switzerland?" Some pretty ugly words (and gestures) have been thrown around, egos have been stepped (stomped) on and the tension throughout Switzerland is palpable. I can't for the life of me figure out where all the hostility comes from, when prior to Tuesday, (I thought) everyone got along well. Of course, wherever people are there will be an occasional little spat and/or misunderstanding. We have them and they go away. Ladies and Gentlemen (and all you others
) in the Swiss family, is it possible for us to put this behind us and move forward? If you feel you want to say something privately (whether it is to make an apology, demand an apology, tell someone there is no need for an apology, etc.)--please, please, please do it...
I thought about using good old Jewish guilt here, but then it occurred to me that I'm the only Jew in Switzerland--so how well doe it work on the rest of the world? So, I decided to definitely not bother with bringing up my arachnoiditis (Google it, please), and how stress can aggravate my condition, blah, blah, blah. Lucky for you!
Okay. I hope something I've said has resonated in all of you, especially those of you that were 'at the scene' of the breach in our Swiss Family's peaceful existence. I also used this forum to suggest that the New Switzerland allows for us to discuss subjects that were previously untouchable, and would appreciate some feedback in that regard. I really love this place and all of you who post here...
) we get so bogged down with life, we never have time for talking. I, of course, have an advantage over you because my 'babies' are grown-ups now. That means at least I don't have to do homework with them any more... 
. Nevertheless, we can at least attempt to keep our phone 'dates' closer...
); however, I do have a big heart and I'm loyal to a fault (or so I'm told). In previous years at another well-known blog (not naming names--Faux 
) has resulted. I then tried to plead on behalf of Switzerland--asking that egos be set aside for the 'greater good' of the blog. Finally, I have even sunk so low as to make my request more personal--alluding to the arachnoiditis (Google it, please) and my fragile physical (and mental) condition--which is strongly affected by any kind of stress. All to no avail.
