Writing a journal has become easy. I write about whatever I’m thinking about. Sometimes that is just, how am I going to keep writing complete sentences until I’ve reached my word count goal for the day. It has gotten so easy that I can usually write a thousand words in my journal in less than forty minutes. That’s an average of twenty five words a minute if you didn’t do the math. I can actually type faster than that but I find that there are usually a few pauses while I shift gears. I don’t usually write my entire journal entry on one topic.
When I sit down to write my blog post I still suffer from writer’s block though. It is partially because I’ve put some constraints on my blog posts. First of all, I try to make the topic something that someone other than me would be interested in. That is probably an unnecessary restriction. Anything I write probably has someone out there on the internet that will be interested in it. The important thing is to write something that is interesting to me. Some of my best blog posts have been memoirs of my childhood or my early experiences in the computer business.
Another restriction that I place on my blog is one that I find more difficult to follow. It is the ban I’ve placed on political essays. Politics in the last ten years or more has gotten very divisive and hurtful. I almost lost my best friend over a misunderstanding stemming from a difference in political opinions.
It disturbs me that our country has become so mean. People have forgotten how to have civil discussions about issues instead of letting the conversation descend into personal attacks that have nothing to do with them. Lately people stick their head in a bubble of news that is spun from the perspective they want to hear and ignore everything else. This is bad for both sides of any issue.
Another thing that disturbs me is the disregard for facts. There is an objective, observable truth and no amount of insisting things are contrary to these facts will change anything. In a similar vein is the rejection of the scientific method. We have built this country on our excellence in science, math, and engineering. As a result, our country leads the world in technical capabilities. If we all of a sudden change direction and reject these core disciplines, the country will quickly decline until we are a third world country.
These are just my observations about what I understand to be shared American values. I heartily support a multi-party system. It is only through discussion of all points of view that we can come to an understanding of the issues that face us and begin to craft solutions that will serve the interests of all parties.
Perhaps by expressing my ground rules for this blog, I can discover a way to make my observations in a kinder, more civil way.
Sweet dreams, don’t forget to tell the ones you love that you love them, and most important of all, be kind.