This morning on Twitter (don’t worry, this is not a post about Twitter) @pistachio retweeted this challenge:

“Bravely facing another Monday? Let’s start something. FINISH THIS TWEET: “I’m not afraid of ___.”

Me? I am not afraid of having an opinion and standing by it.

Not the grandest of answers, I think it’d be cool to be A-OK with jumping out of an airplane, but I find it to be extremely freeing.

I began The Legal Watercooler in hopes of having a conversation. In the beginning, I was concerned at the lack of public comments, but then I started tracking my Sitemeter stats. People were reading the blog. I have, on average, more than 100 unique visitors a day.

Then I started getting private e-mails and phone calls to a post, a Tweet, or a listserv comment. I am now involved in the most amazing, complex and thought provoking conversations off-line, every day.

So where is everyone else? Why the fear of taking a stand? Having an opinion? I mentioned this off-line, and a friend responded, “Fear.” People are in fear of the economy, politics, for their jobs. In this climate of fear, in the day of the Internet, people are afraid of putting their opinions in writing.

In his first inaugural address President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” How true this is today.

So fear. Yesterday I was invited to participate on a radio program, Lawyer2Lawyer.

First reaction: fear. Why me? What could I have to say (LOL)? Second reaction: get it cleared with my management committee.

Fear again: what if my partners listen in? Next reaction: So what if they listen in?

My thinking is, if I was willing to say it during my job interview, and if I am still willing to say it at the water cooler, then I should have no qualms about posting it on this blog.

And, if I’m willing to say it on The Legal Watercooler, where I really don’t know who is listening in, then why not say it in a radio podcast that will be available on LegalTalkNetwork, Law.com and iTunes?