One of thebest parts of my job is putting together the speaker lineup for ourconference every year. This year—in case you haven’t alreadyheard—we’ll be returning to Texas in May. San Antonio, to beexact.

I’m excited, because Texas has always beengood to us and I think we’ve got one of the most content-heavyprograms we’ve ever put together.

As part of that, yes, we’ve gotleft-wing poster child (and excitable candidate) Howard Dean as oneof our celebrity keynotes this year. I’ve received a few phonecalls, emails and even a text message denouncing this“outrage.”

Before addressing the specificsDean’s appearance, let’s take a look back: This will be our eighthshow. Warren Benoit, a broker, friend and mentor, headlined ourfirst show in Orlando. We went with mostly harmless and largelyirrelevant sports celebrities for the next few years after that. Itwas cool, but it left us—and our audiences—wanting a littlemore.

For out fifth time out—in Austin,Texas, no less—we brought in Pat Buchanan. And, of course, weearned more than our share of ire. And while he was much nicer inperson than on TV, he still didn’t address what brokers wanted tohear.

So we brought in Karl Rove thefollowing year and he absolutely killed. Not only was the guyfriendlier than he had any right to be, he went on stage withoutany notes and nailed it. I think even the few in the room whodespised the man walked away entertained—or at the very least,entralled.

But the complaints kept coming. Ourconferences apparently portrayed us as a right-wing venue, and thatalienated some of our audience. So last year, I decided to make iteven and moderated a “debate” between former U.S. Sen. FredThompson and former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. Andwhile it was fun and relevant, spending most of our time on PPACA,it wasn’t nearly as exciting as Rove’s session the year before.

Sothis year I thought I’d give a nod to the left for a change andbring in Howard Dean. My publisher and I saw him a few years backat an AHIP conference and thought he was an educated, engagingspeaker. It looked like a natural fit.

And while I love that ourreaders—and attendees—are engaged enough to call and write withtheir opinions, I’d really appreciate it if we could leave theprofanity out of it. Especially since you’re shooting the messengerwhen you call up and cuss out our customer service peeps.

I’ve taken a number of political stances inmy life, casting ballots for Democrats, Republicans and no one atall over the course of my 20-plus-year voting career. But I’venever been so self-absorbed or intellectually arrogant as todisregard different opinions out of hand.

In fact, I’d argue we learn morewhen we debate than when we sit back with our red Solo cups ofKool-Aid and listen to the choir. Besides, isn’t that what talkradio’s for?

When we let our disagreements defineus, we lose. When our own opinion blinds us to someone else’s,we’re both lost in the dark. And when we shut everyone else out,we’re alone.