The most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
- Harlan Ellison
Friday, July 15, 2005
Greenlily....
Has been invited to add her rather rousing contributions to this fledgling blog, after impressing me soundly in private email correspondence. Hers will be another frank and deliberate voice that I trust you'll enjoy as much as I do.
Well I do appreciate the "props". What is it about blogging and posting to listserves that pulls us in and engages us? I think some of us inform our inner dialogue by sharing it and digesting it with some side dishes. When we think we can arrive at conclusions and opinions all on our own, we are in trouble. One hopes we can muddle through contradictory feelings with the benefit of witnesses to our rants. I thoroughly enjoy having my mind changed. It is reassuring to know I've got one in there. Feel free to tease it, we all need to be provoked!
Well, aside from the obvious narcissism that's part of any blogger's motivation, I think the larger benefit is this:
In a world in which "community" is increasingly difficult to achieve (whether because of geography, apathy, or too fucking much to do on any given day to worry about bonding with the neighbors), these kinds of journals allow us to bridge the distance between one another -- physically and intellectually. While I'm the first to admit I'm fairly dismissive of any wingnut position, I'm likewise aware that there are some exceptionally brilliant people out there that disagree with many of the things I believe. The compelling arguments they present, at the end of the day, make my own arguments sharper, prompt me to work extra hard at supporting my claims, and help me see when, despite my passion, I really am full of shit. I don't remember ever getting that kind of benefit flipping between CNN & Fox, or while searching for actual conversation amidst the endless spam on Usenet. "Provocation" is exactly it. I've found it in spades in the blogosphere, and I confess to being a borderline junkie. That said, I'm going to practice a little political abstinence tonight, and hunker down with Jim Butcher's latest. It's a great read if you're into that sort of thing.
Well I disagree with the narcissism, while certainly it can be true for many... If one posts and then only concerns themselves with searching frantically for warm, fuzzy, validating compliments under "comments" maybe.... but some of us genuinely want feedback that can inform our views, and hope that we can in some small -scale way, affect change. Anyone can blog, anyone can write nonsense and get ten emails saying how "on the mark" it is. We can parrot pundits, we can paraphrase thousands of talking heads. Over time, where's the sense in that? But throwing something new into the mix- thats what I like to find in a blog. And you have to GIVE to GET, baby. You have to ut yourself out there and be willing to be wrong, be humble and be open.
4 comments:
Well I do appreciate the "props". What is it about blogging and posting to listserves that pulls us in and engages us? I think some of us inform our inner dialogue by sharing it and digesting it with some side dishes. When we think we can arrive at conclusions and opinions all on our own, we are in trouble. One hopes we can muddle through contradictory feelings with the benefit of witnesses to our rants. I thoroughly enjoy having my mind changed. It is reassuring to know I've got one in there. Feel free to tease it, we all need to be provoked!
Well, aside from the obvious narcissism that's part of any blogger's motivation, I think the larger benefit is this:
In a world in which "community" is increasingly difficult to achieve (whether because of geography, apathy, or too fucking much to do on any given day to worry about bonding with the neighbors), these kinds of journals allow us to bridge the distance between one another -- physically and intellectually. While I'm the first to admit I'm fairly dismissive of any wingnut position, I'm likewise aware that there are some exceptionally brilliant people out there that disagree with many of the things I believe. The compelling arguments they present, at the end of the day, make my own arguments sharper, prompt me to work extra hard at supporting my claims, and help me see when, despite my passion, I really am full of shit. I don't remember ever getting that kind of benefit flipping between CNN & Fox, or while searching for actual conversation amidst the endless spam on Usenet. "Provocation" is exactly it. I've found it in spades in the blogosphere, and I confess to being a borderline junkie. That said, I'm going to practice a little political abstinence tonight, and hunker down with Jim Butcher's latest. It's a great read if you're into that sort of thing.
Well I disagree with the narcissism, while certainly it can be true for many... If one posts and then only concerns themselves with searching frantically for warm, fuzzy, validating compliments under "comments" maybe.... but some of us genuinely want feedback that can inform our views, and hope that we can in some small -scale way, affect change. Anyone can blog, anyone can write nonsense and get ten emails saying how "on the mark" it is. We can parrot pundits, we can paraphrase thousands of talking heads. Over time, where's the sense in that?
But throwing something new into the mix- thats what I like to find in a blog. And you have to GIVE to GET, baby. You have to ut yourself out there and be willing to be wrong, be humble and be open.
We're happy to have your eyeballs, Daisy :)
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