<p>FountainSiren, believe me, you are not “the exception to my concern.” I know how old you are. And the last thing I would want to do is to stop you from presenting your knee-jerk right wing, pro-Christian Fundamentalist (“but I’m a Sufi!”) opinions in this forum. 
At your age my best friend was a Sufi and I was a Libertarian. I like to see strong opinions articulated by a smart young person - even better if those opinions are a little quirky. And you’ve posted some very thoughtful comments on some threads (most of which I have not responded to.) But… there are people - some of whom are parents who post on this forum - who confuse the adoption of an air of arch superiority for wit, pomposity for wisdom, and smug denigration of those they disagree with for humor. (A trait which is not confined to any particular side of the political spectrum, believe me.) When I see that form of “argument” coming from a 50 year old it annoys me; I may respond in kind or (much better) just ignore it. But when I see a post like that written by an 18 year old, my reaction is different. (Remember, in this thread, it’s not about you, it’s about me.) It dismays me to see that form of essentially phony “debate” tactic being adopted by a new and brighter generation. I don’t want to argue with them, I want to make them sit at a table and write: “I won’t substitute pretentious put-downs for honest argument when I disagree with someone’s opinion” 100 times. But that’s condescending, isn’t it? So I end up erasing my post, or rewriting it to take out all the good parts, and just addressing factual errors that I think are beneath the talent level of the poster. That’s not how I treat “the big kids.”</p>