Hevusa

February 3, 2005 marks the day hevusa (Michael) joined Defending the Truth. It is truly an honor to have Michael a part of this political forum. I thank him for all that he has done in encouraging a friendly debate to help Defending the Truth grow.

The first couple of days, I got myself into some pretty heated debates with hevusa. The forum opened only a few weeks prior to his joining, and I was new to debating politics online. Hevusa considered himself to be politically liberal, and I was a conservative Republican. When I look back at the old debates in 2005, I feel regret as I was very harsh on those who did not agree to my views, especially hevusa. I am grateful that hevusa made the choice to stay with the site, as I feel he has done much to help me become more open-minded. He has changed my thoughts politically when it comes to elections and legalizing marijuana, so if he did not choose to stay with the site, it could be possible that I would still hold my old thoughts.

Mike, Thank you for being a part of Defending the Truth! I consider you a great friend (as I am sure you have made many at DtT) and I hope that one day we will meet in person for some brews 

1) If you can recall, how did you find Defending the Truth?

I believe it was an ad placed by someone, I think it was you RHS, on Craigslist.com if I remember correctly. The name of the site intrigued me because I thought it would spark some passionate opinions. I was glad to discover that was the case.

2) Why did you decide to stick with Defending the Truth?

In the beginning of DTT it was a smaller and closer knit community than now obviously but all the original members were really interested in quality, and more significantly, friendly debate. There was a large amount of good information being exchanged and I could see the deeply rooted opinions of childhood softening and sometimes vanish completely in some of our members. This is what made me decide to stick with DTT… a difference was really being made using exciting new technology, linking people in a way not possible in previous generations. This kind of information exchange must be the way towards lasting peace on earth (as I can see no other path).

3) What are your hobbies? What do you like to do on your spare time?

Not including my girlfriend of 5 years (:wink:), music takes up a tremendous amount of my spare time. I went to college and got a degree in audio engineering and have a small studio in my basement. I play guitar, bass, drums, saxophone, and a little piano. I love to write and record songs whenever possible and hope that the hobby becomes something more than just a hobby one day. But I know I will be doing music in some form, regardless, until my death. Other than that I play in a bowling league once a week and my high score is 211 (think “the dude” from the movie “the big lebowski”). I also host a poker game at my place once a week (to get my gamble on).

4) Has Defending the Truth changed your life in any way?

It has changed the way I spend my free time, that is for sure! This place is addictive. I think the biggest way this site has changed my life is simply meeting great people with very different views from the folks I grew up with and generally interact with on a day to day basis. For instance meeting a non theist, man of the military (Tadpole) and experiencing him being sent to Afghanistan made the war of terror more personal than I ever could have imagined. Every time I heard bad news from over there I would be checking records hoping not to see that familiar name. I’m happy to say I never did.

Simply interacting with people whose opinions I didn’t fully understand has changed the way I perceive things in life. Meeting people like you RHS, where we have such different backgrounds and points of view, yet I consider you a friend and think we could sit down, laugh and have some beers. It gives me hope for the future that communication can lead to greater things.

5) Are their any cases where you have changed your stance on a particular issue since joining the forum?

Yes, absolutely. I used to be for the death penalty in every regard. I thought that if you took a life you should be expected to give a life (your own). But since joining this forum I have discovered that every system has its flaws, including our judicial system. It fails innocent citizens on a far too regular basis for me to ever consider it moral to execute anyone, especially considering the fact that countless studies from countries who did away with capital punishment have not seen an increase in the rate of murder or stability of their society. And eye for an eye does indeed leave us blind.

Gun control is another. I use to be completely against people owning guns and I still feel that way to a certain extent personally. I have said that I would rather be struck down by a weapon than ever stoop down to the level of owning such an archaic killing device. It might be easier to understand that point of view knowing that I grew up in the Washington D.C. area where 3 people lose their lives to gun related violence every day on average.

But since debating on this site I think gun violence in America is just a symptom of greater problems that need to be addressed like Universal Health Care, education, and changing the two party strangle-hold (by changing the way we elect officials by adapting Instant Runoff Voting). If we addressed just the health care crisis alone I think we would see a drop in gun related violence. If we help in the areas where capitalism leaves the common man hanging we can live in better harmony with our supposedly beloved weapons I think. (But remember, the bigger the gun the smaller the… hehehe).

6) Where do you see yourself in the future?

It feels pretty wide open at this point. Being a duel citizen of both America and Europe I have an infinite number of ways my life can go in just location alone. If I don’t end up in a touring band I will probably be working in an audio studio somewhere (hopefully my own). But I always have my newly developed business skills to fall back on (I have been running a successful online venture for over 4 years now).

7) Where do you feel is the best place to live? (I’m sure that I know the answer to this)

I think you are getting at Sweden. :-D My mother’s side of the family is Swedish and I lived there a few years myself. I saw first hand the way citizens of a social democracy were treated by their government and quite frankly it pissed me off!! Here I had grown up in capitalist America all of my life, having it spoon fed to me that capitalism is the best thing for citizens and that America was #1 basically (big foam finger). Boy was I wrong! I felt like the biggest sucker. These people had longer vacations than us, more personal luxuries and freedom, free health care, shorter work weeks, a better education system, better childcare, better retirement plans. The works!

I consider America my homeland however and I love this country very much. I was born here and I may very well die here and I want to see it fulfill the potential I know it has.

I grew up just outside D.C. in Maryland, but currently live in Seattle and I love it! The northwest is far less populated and dirty than the east coast so I greatly prefer it. But I could see myself living in Boston or north of there. I like the colder climates.

8) Have you always been politically active on the Internet prior to joining DtT?

Not as far as forums are concerned. I always found them to be shit flinging fests. I find this site to be much less so when compared to others and I hope that ideal continues. I have been politically active since the first presidential election that I could participate.

9) Do you have a Girlfriend? If so, how long have you been together?

I do have a girlfriend of over 5 years. We met in college as we were both in the same dorm. We moved out together shortly thereafter and have been living together ever since.

10) Is your girlfriend sick of hearing Defending the Truth??

Definitely! I get “I see you are defending the truth again” a lot.

11) Do you live close to your family?

I can’t say that I do. My nearest relative is over 3000 miles away!

12) On average how much pot do you smoke a week? lol

As much as I can!!!!! On average about a gram a day when I have some. So 7 grams or ¼ of an ounce a week. I’m stoned right now!! But there are periods when I don’t smoke any at all.

13) Do you have any comments regarding the introduction to this interview?

I am honored to be a part of what opened you up to a few new ideas. That is what this site is about after all! I really do hope we all get a chance to have a few drinks together one day!

14) Lastly, Do you have anything you would like to share with the DtT community?

Thank you for making this site interesting and engaging on a daily basis. The amount of good information being exchanged is what makes this site as good as it is! If open communication like this continues the sky is the limit for our future! Thanks for participating!

Thank you for reading and please do share your comments! I hope you enjoyed this interview, and please stay tuned for more to come!!