By allowing us to communicate freely with people from all over the world, E-mail opens doors that otherwise would remain shut. Blogging (a sort of public E-mail) in particular allows us to see and hear points of views that we would never encounter in our daily lives.

Whether it is staying in touch with family members in different states or countries (and with the advent of instant messaging and free internet phone service with web cams compatibility), or discussing issues with friends who live elsewhere, E-mail and its associated communication mediums has made it easier to maintain real connection to the people who are important in our lives.

Naturally, along with the puffy white cloud, comes a few dark shadows. E-mail is a particularly anonymous means of communication if you want it to be. As such, it facilitates those nasty letters that a person might not take the time or expense to post. I'm talking about the anonymous ones that tell you just where you can go for posting a controversial opinion on, say, On Faith. It seems that many people say things in E-mail they would never hand write or say to someone face to face, largely due to this anonymity.

Of course, there are the E-mail scams -- no, you did not inherit $5 million from some unknown person in Nigeria, and I'm sorry to say no one can really make your... willy... grow six inches.

And then there are the computer viruses spread by E-mail. That's where E-mail turns from annoying to dangerous.

As a person of faith and morality, obviously, the key is to use E-mail (and other internet services) in wholesome ways.