I Hate Blogs (Part 1)
Scott Bridwell just posted some interesting stuff regarding his blog. It seems that certain circumstances required his removal of some links he had on his site, followed by a disclaimer that explained the author's non-endorsement of any links that he may post on his site. This has led me to ask a few questions. Maybe these are your questions as well.
1) Is this blog really you? And who the heck are you anyway?
Although I do enjoy the art of blogging and find it to be a fun, cathartic exercise for wasting away the hours, I actually hate blogs. Well, maybe not hate them. But I hate the fact that in blogs, information is presented with little or no context around it. In other words, you don't know me, you don't know my situation, you don't know what circumstances prompted me to write this post or that post. When I write, I certain do expose many aspects of who I am. But that's not really why I write -- this is not a cyber-dating site. I write to bring up issues that I think are pertinent, issues that trouble me, and issues that require conversation. Sometimes I write simply to (hopefully) inspire thought in others. In this aspect, I feel that there is no such thing as a "dangerous" blog. Today we are innundated with information, usually in the form of pithy sayings and slogans. We tend to adopt beliefs based upon the charisma of the orator, the cleverness of the slogan, etc. We say things like "I am a conservative evangelical Christian," because we seem to agree with what other people who call themselves conservative evangelical Christians are saying. I am sure that when you read this blog, you place me in some sort of convenient category as well. But it's just not that simple. There is a lot more to me than you will ever know from reading this blog. If you want to know me, send me an email and meet me for coffee (on you). But if you want to engage in a critical thinking exercise and figure out what you really believe and where you really stand on issues, read on.
Which leads me to ....
2) Do you support the views of the people you link to???
The links over there on the right side of your screen are sites that I visit regularly. They are sites of personal friends, as well as people I have never met or even spoken to. They all have one thing in common: they make me think. They bring up issues that require more discussion than a simple agreement or dismissal. They provide a variety of perspectives on issues, allowing me to set aside my presuppositions (of which I may not even be aware) and view things from the eyes of another. Some are conservative, some are liberal, some are somewhere in between and confused. But I am not afraid of any of them. If I am afraid to read erroneous views and biased propaganda, that must mean that I am afraid that what I believe will not make the cut. I used to be afraid to read Nietzsche. Now I read his works and see his obvious biases, failures, and even some elements of truth. Had I never opened the book, I would never have known about him or learned more about myself.
Due to the growing length of this post I will continue later.
1) Is this blog really you? And who the heck are you anyway?
Although I do enjoy the art of blogging and find it to be a fun, cathartic exercise for wasting away the hours, I actually hate blogs. Well, maybe not hate them. But I hate the fact that in blogs, information is presented with little or no context around it. In other words, you don't know me, you don't know my situation, you don't know what circumstances prompted me to write this post or that post. When I write, I certain do expose many aspects of who I am. But that's not really why I write -- this is not a cyber-dating site. I write to bring up issues that I think are pertinent, issues that trouble me, and issues that require conversation. Sometimes I write simply to (hopefully) inspire thought in others. In this aspect, I feel that there is no such thing as a "dangerous" blog. Today we are innundated with information, usually in the form of pithy sayings and slogans. We tend to adopt beliefs based upon the charisma of the orator, the cleverness of the slogan, etc. We say things like "I am a conservative evangelical Christian," because we seem to agree with what other people who call themselves conservative evangelical Christians are saying. I am sure that when you read this blog, you place me in some sort of convenient category as well. But it's just not that simple. There is a lot more to me than you will ever know from reading this blog. If you want to know me, send me an email and meet me for coffee (on you). But if you want to engage in a critical thinking exercise and figure out what you really believe and where you really stand on issues, read on.
Which leads me to ....
2) Do you support the views of the people you link to???
The links over there on the right side of your screen are sites that I visit regularly. They are sites of personal friends, as well as people I have never met or even spoken to. They all have one thing in common: they make me think. They bring up issues that require more discussion than a simple agreement or dismissal. They provide a variety of perspectives on issues, allowing me to set aside my presuppositions (of which I may not even be aware) and view things from the eyes of another. Some are conservative, some are liberal, some are somewhere in between and confused. But I am not afraid of any of them. If I am afraid to read erroneous views and biased propaganda, that must mean that I am afraid that what I believe will not make the cut. I used to be afraid to read Nietzsche. Now I read his works and see his obvious biases, failures, and even some elements of truth. Had I never opened the book, I would never have known about him or learned more about myself.
Due to the growing length of this post I will continue later.