Here We Go

What Is This?

A lot of people have told me they wish I made a newsletter or blog, so that I could do my best to explain to them in a way that makes sense to them what’s going on. I know a lot of people who do this better than me, and just about everyone has a blog, so what do I have to offer? 

In a theme that will recur here quite often, I’m probably in the middle of a spectrum. Imagine the extremes of this thing. At one end are people who are professionals who study politics, philosophy, religion, and other complex topics. They then use this experience to report to you, the reader. The problem is that reading their work requires you to also read their sources (and they use a sentence structure that’s so obtuse and dense it gives you a headache halfway through a page). That means the distance between you and them gets wider each time you try to read something they write, unless you have time to put a ton of effort into homework. By the time you finish reading something they wrote you feel like you should be smarter but you’re just more confused than when you started.

At the other end are people who have very loud, uninformed opinions. They make it their life’s work to tell every single person they can find about them. Again, this is not not about which side of the political spectrum you’re on: this is about how you approach discussing ideas with others, and remember this is the end of the spectrum. Following them you’ll probably just see one page memes or photos, and it will always make you feel something very strongly. Usually anger, disgust, or fear. 

What makes me different is that I approach this as someone who thinks I am not an expert (at anything). I’m not the smartest person in the room: that person wrote those articles you and I can’t understand. I’m also not confident I’m some kind of influencer who has the force of righteousness on my side: because again I don’t think I’m really all that smart or special. I’m just another person searching for the truth. My fear is that anything I write can and will be used by people to claim they’re better than others. So, I take inspiration from a zen saying. 

"When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much." ~Fen-Yang

We strive for understanding, and we do so with the assumption that we will not be able to achieve it fully. But that’s okay! The journey is the point: that you will continue to try to be better, and learn more each day. 

Okay, but like… who is this for?

So, if that sounds like you, I think you’ll enjoy this. I will do my best to research and back up anything I say as far as data or other established research. But I won’t make you go through an entire system of learning just to understand the point I’m making. You can do that on your own time (and I’ll leave links to my research so you can if you want to). 

But I accept that in today’s political, intellectual, and philosophical climate (especially in my home country of the United States), there are people who will not change their minds. I have spent a long time arguing with these people on social media, knowing full well I cannot make them understand: but they were never the target. My target was their friends and family members who messaged me and thanked me for being willing to engage with them. It saved them time and effort, made them feel like they weren’t alone, and also helped that person understand that there were calm, rational people who disagreed with them. 

But I had a very good friend tell me that he didn’t like it when I engaged with them. He felt like it legitimized their points, and that it was a waste of my time, time I could be spending on people who were worth it and doing things that were more productive. I agreed with him, but I didn’t know what else to do. And sometimes, I’ll admit, I was drawn into very unproductive lines of argument by the urge to have a snarky, witty back and forth. That’s my failing: I’m a human. But he had a really good point. So I’m not going to argue with them, I’m going to talk to the other people. Right here. And if you want to chat with me, feel free! You will be able to reach me in the comments here, or via facebook or bluesky when I share these. I may or may not engage with you, and if you try to pick a fight or victimize people, I will use my rights to show you the door. 

Why Now?

Well… gestures broadly. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. But hopelessness is not productive. That seems obvious. What’s not obvious is that it’s contagious: telling people to get up and fight always results in someone saying “what’s the point?” Someone says “it’s too late for that.” 

All due respect: you don’t need that shit. Keep moving. Keep learning. Keep growing. And if necessary, keep fighting. 

This will be a place to learn, grow, and if necessary, a place to join the fight.