People frequently ask me if I liked a particular movie I've seen or book I've read. I find myself in an interesting position when this happens and the item in question has content that I am not all that comfortable with. On the one hand I feel it's important to say what bothers me but on the other hand I don't intend to impose my ideas of good/bad on someone else. So I end up telling people what bugs me and then apologizing for it. But do I really need to apologize for my convictions? Even if they seem silly?

Let me toss out some real examples. In movies and books it really starts to bug me if there is an excessive amount of profanity. A few words here and there I can deal with. I'm guessing that this is my thing though. I'm guessing that most people in the US don't really care all that much about excessive language in a movie. So when I tell someone that a movie wasn't any good because there was too much profanity, I feel like I have to apologize and explain that that just "my opinion".

So should I have to apologize? Probably not. But I don't want people to think that I think that they should think like I think (four thinks in once sentence, make that five). Just being forthright and assertive comes across as arrogant. Being apologetic comes across as wishy-washy. Maybe there is a middle ground that I just have to find.

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