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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

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.

8 Comments:

At 7/04/2006 9:28 PM, Blogger Mark said...

Yo!

 
At 7/04/2006 11:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Stephanie: Nice to see you back. I blog because thoughts and emotions boil to the surface, and prior to the technology allowing blogs, there were few avenues with which to vent. The traditional 'letters to the editor' or to one's congress-person seems fruitless.

Also, the blogosphere has surprised me in that the MSM is wrong by labeling people 'liberal' or 'conservative' or whatever. There are more of the 'whatevers' than I thought...people who are conservative in one sense but liberal in another. Our friend at GTL is a good example.

I ascribe to the notion that the only way to improve your writing is to continue to write. There are many bloggers who, unfortunately, hold the same views that seemed to harden in childhood and never changed. Life itself, if you live the ups and downs, teaches us many things. That is, if we are willing to learn.

Thanks for the tip on the new blogs.

Hope you and yours had a happy Independence Day.

 
At 7/05/2006 9:42 PM, Blogger David Schantz said...

Stephanie, I've met Mark, in fact I was at his site today. I'll have to check out the other two you mention later. I got to get ready for work. Why do I blog? Because I've upset the Editor of the local news paper enough times that I can't get a Letter To The Editor published.

God Bless America, God Save The Republic.

 
At 7/10/2006 11:30 AM, Blogger Praguetwin said...

Hi Stephanie,

You know, I blog to educate myself. If that spills over into educating someone else, great.

Also, I like to be on record when something happens so that I can record my own opinions before I start reading other people's opinions.

I'm going to check out your husbands blog. Sounds interesting.

 
At 7/13/2006 5:37 PM, Blogger Scott G said...

I imagine I could golf of ride bikes with Bush, but if we got into a political debate, I would probably pop my own eardrums

 
At 7/14/2006 11:19 AM, Blogger Reverse_Vampyr said...

I nearly laughed out loud at this post. Not because it's funny, but because I share your feelings about the snappy comebacks which seem to arrive a day late and a dollar short. Bad news for conversation but it seems to work just fine for blogging and commenting.

I'd bet that phenomenon is more common than we'd guess.

As to your question, I blog for a few reasons.

One, as an outlet. It makes me feel better to rant and put my thoughts out there.

That leads to the second reason, which happens as a side effect (and is the same thing Praguetwin said), to educate myself. When something in the news or even just daily life happens, I have an emotional reaction to it. And I research the topic to help either bolster or change my opinion.

The third reason I blog is for all the big money and girls. ;)

 
At 7/14/2006 4:25 PM, Blogger Mark said...

Well, obviously my "back"ness was over-rated, mostly by myself. School has started up again and I haven't even finished all the old stuff I had to do. Alas... I guess that's just the reality of my life, and perhaps life in general.

I'd like to thank you all for responding. I'd like to add that, for myself, one of the reasons I blog is because (from my initial blogging experiences) I've found that all media outlets are bias and the only real way that I can see to avoid that is either to have been there, to read a whole lot of them in order to pick out the bits of truth in each, or to read the various summations of those who do one of the above. So, for me, reading blogs is a way to stay informed in an effecient manner. And I want to thank y'all for helping me with that! ;-)

 
At 7/18/2006 12:03 AM, Blogger d.a.n said...

I blog to find and share information and viewpoints.
The political blogs can sharpen your debating skills and logic, and test your patience and self control.
Also, having a web-site, and helping sponsor a few others, it is a good motivator to do more research.

 

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