Why I Blog

While it's true that I haven't been blogging much of late...I've had the need to decompress now that my first term in college is over...blogging is still something that is genuinely important to me and here's why.

I was almost assertive today. You see, there were three older gentlemen debating politics at the Dunkin Donuts when I went in to get a motivating dose of caffeine. It was a rather loud, vehement debate that was impossible not to notice. As per my typical behavior, I tried to ignore it. However, one of the gentlemen was arguing from a point of view I happen to share, at least to a certain extent, but was doing so using a certain myth that time and blogging has proven to me to be invalid. Not only was he hurting his own point by perpetuating this myth, but he was hurting my own...though I wasn't trying to make any...and I had to speak up.

The quote that got me? "...legions and legions and legions of Bush-hating liberals..."

Now, admittedly there are many people who disagree with Bush's politics. And there are ultra-liberal Leftists who truly and adamantly hate Bush. However, the "legions and legions and legions" is a fallacy perpetuated by the media, amongst others, to make this relatively small faction of the Liberal wing of politics seem more numerous and more powerful, to better fullfill their agenda. I have debated with many, many liberals. In fact, I seek them out on purpose in order to disagree with them on certain points (as I do with die-hard conservatives), however those amongst them who are venemously hateful of all things Bush are relatively few compared to the many sane and reasonable liberals out there who just dislike Bush's politics.

So, in order to do just a little to eliminate this exaggeration, I very courteously inserted myself into the conversation. I made the correction, was contradicted, supported my position, got agreeing nods from the other two gentlemen present, and exited out of the conversation as quickly and gutlessly as possible. Could I have expounded on what I knew and shared it with them? Of course. Would they have been receptive to what I had to say? Probably. They would have at least been willing to hear me out. Could I have distributed some of the VOID cards that are now burning a hole in my pocket, so to speak? Maybe. Unfortunately, I didn't even try.

Much to the possible surprise of at least some of my fellow bloggers, I'm not a naturally assertive person. The fact of the matter is I write much better than I speak. Oh, I'm full of witty come-backs and responses -- five to ten minutes after a verbal conversation has ended. When I'm writing it's different. I can think on my feet -- or something like that. And I do have something to say, something worth saying, something that I feel the need to say...as long as I don't have to actually say it. And thus, I blog.

So, while you're thinking about why you blog, I want to formally introduce you to two new bloggers whom I've had the pleasure of "recruiting" into the blogosphere. Please take the time to check them out and introduce them to any bloggers you might know who'd be interested in what they have to say. Though, ironically enough, neither of them have much interest in blogging about the main issues with which I choose to concern myself.

Mark at Lazy Mormon is my husband and he spends his time blogging about religion. In my own words and from what I've witnessed, he's seeking to bridge the divide between Mormons and non-Mormons. There are many people who irrationally dismiss those of us from the LDS faith because we're "cult-members" and there are those within the LDS faith who dismiss people from other religions because they're "wrong." Neither Mark or I agree with either stance and Mark seems bent on addressing it.

My dear friend (who chooses to remain nameless) has started a blog called possibly crazy which seems to be about working through her childhood traumas. A fellow blogger used the word "naughty" to describe a blog I introduced her to, and that is the word I'll use as a cautionary measure. This is a blog that explores issues that are not appropriate for all ages...and I'll leave it at that.

Please welcome both of these new bloggers into the blogosphere and if you know of any blogs they should visit, let them know. And don't forget...

Why do you blog?!?

Oh, and I just linked to a blog called military view, don't know much about Jumpmaster, but his is a fairly new blog (the "he" is an assumption which I hope will be corrected if necessary) and he seems worth getting to know, so you might want to check him out too.