One addiction beat, ninety nine more to go
I realized the other day, I beat an addiction, without even realizing it. I use to read editorial websites at work too much. I would load up a couple, and then open additional windows for each article. Hell, I'd cross-reference other sites to verify accuracy and bias. Sound strange? Well, I guess it was.
I'm overly opinionated on many different topics, but also fairly knowledgable. My addiction was the reason why, I suppose. But thanks to blogging, I didn't have time for it at work, or more importantly, did not care about it anymore. Blogging seems a lot more interesting.
I use to go on slate.msn.com, and visit their forums all the time. And this was only one of many places I went during a day. Needless to say, productivity suffered. But after blogging, I realized it didn't mean shit. I'm not going to find truth in someone else's political/philosophical opinion, whether it is because I appreciate it, or because I disagree with it. It may add another dimension to my knowledge, but a dimension to what?
The world is a complex place, and there is little in it that helps clarify it. The mainstream media is shit, and most other places seem marginalized and incomplete. It's hard to keep up these days with what is really happening.
Add to that the fact that most people seem to want to be seen as right, and not actually know the truth, and you see where I'm going. I can research something to death, but if I get caught off guard, even semantically, I'll be responded to with a smug grin and half-witted gainsaying. Just watch things like Fox News or any "debate show", it's a joke. Childhood arguments have not changed, just the vocabulary.
I have a saying, "Who is the greater fool, the fool, or the one who chooses to argue with the fool?" I guess I should have taken my own advice. Not trying to sound arrogant, but there are a lot of fools out there, and many of them have jobs in politics and the media.
Does this mean I think that all truth is relative, or cannot be known? Eh, hell if I know, but I'm still going to read the news and dig deeper behind the stories. However, I'm not going to be a news addict, there doesn't seem to be a point. I'll still take an active part in the world around me, but I don't think I'll be buying that Nexis-Lexis subscription.
What reading and writing blogs has done for me is seen what really matters. Not the hype of convoluted news, but people's lives and inspirations. There are blogs about politics and news, and I know I have posted a few related things, but the most meaningful blog posts I've read have been ones that were personal to the author. That seems to be more real to me. Life is not another tick of the news cycle, but every individual life in the world. From the mundane, to the dramatic. The fictional works, or the slice of life. This is what matters, and not another sound bite on CNN. If this world is to survive, we must stay connected to one another, no matter the cost. The alternative is a reality filtered through the eyes of a few. That would be no kind of reality at all.
Thank you to everyone who has shared a part of themselves, whether on their blog, or just posting a comment.
I'm overly opinionated on many different topics, but also fairly knowledgable. My addiction was the reason why, I suppose. But thanks to blogging, I didn't have time for it at work, or more importantly, did not care about it anymore. Blogging seems a lot more interesting.
I use to go on slate.msn.com, and visit their forums all the time. And this was only one of many places I went during a day. Needless to say, productivity suffered. But after blogging, I realized it didn't mean shit. I'm not going to find truth in someone else's political/philosophical opinion, whether it is because I appreciate it, or because I disagree with it. It may add another dimension to my knowledge, but a dimension to what?
The world is a complex place, and there is little in it that helps clarify it. The mainstream media is shit, and most other places seem marginalized and incomplete. It's hard to keep up these days with what is really happening.
Add to that the fact that most people seem to want to be seen as right, and not actually know the truth, and you see where I'm going. I can research something to death, but if I get caught off guard, even semantically, I'll be responded to with a smug grin and half-witted gainsaying. Just watch things like Fox News or any "debate show", it's a joke. Childhood arguments have not changed, just the vocabulary.
I have a saying, "Who is the greater fool, the fool, or the one who chooses to argue with the fool?" I guess I should have taken my own advice. Not trying to sound arrogant, but there are a lot of fools out there, and many of them have jobs in politics and the media.
Does this mean I think that all truth is relative, or cannot be known? Eh, hell if I know, but I'm still going to read the news and dig deeper behind the stories. However, I'm not going to be a news addict, there doesn't seem to be a point. I'll still take an active part in the world around me, but I don't think I'll be buying that Nexis-Lexis subscription.
What reading and writing blogs has done for me is seen what really matters. Not the hype of convoluted news, but people's lives and inspirations. There are blogs about politics and news, and I know I have posted a few related things, but the most meaningful blog posts I've read have been ones that were personal to the author. That seems to be more real to me. Life is not another tick of the news cycle, but every individual life in the world. From the mundane, to the dramatic. The fictional works, or the slice of life. This is what matters, and not another sound bite on CNN. If this world is to survive, we must stay connected to one another, no matter the cost. The alternative is a reality filtered through the eyes of a few. That would be no kind of reality at all.
Thank you to everyone who has shared a part of themselves, whether on their blog, or just posting a comment.
posted by Buddha Bubba at 3:16 PM
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