Attila

Andy,

thinking about of the problem of misinterpretation you are wrestling with, I realized that the cause of your disppointment is what you expect from the reader of your essay.

Humans are emotional beings, and the response to an essay is ALLWAYS an emotional one. An essay is a work of art in its own right and as such it triggers all kinds of emotions. Each person has a different emotional response, conditioned among others by the image you project in them.

A bonsai can never be misinterpreted because it is a mirror of our own fantasy. It is what we make out of it. If we like it, it is because it triggers positive emotions in us.

It's the same with the essay. Your stance is an intellectual one while people respond to it emotionally (you know, it's like arguing with you wife). They are interpreting it with their feelings. And I think a good essay is supposed to do just that. To stir the readers' emotions.

After that, it takes on a life of its own. Trying to change people's feelings through logical reasoning is like trying to swim against the the undertoes of the Na Pali coast (I just came back from Hawaii).
We like to think that we are rational beings when in fact our emotions are the culprits behind everything we do or say.

So, let your essays live out their natural life without the worry of being misinterpreted. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it's greater than yourself.

Regards,
Attila