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see no evil

see-no-evil

Someone said to me that my not blogging politics anymore is like putting blinders on. No, I said. I'm still paying attention. I just choose, mostly, not to comment.

It's been hard holding back my comments the past week or so. I want to say a million things, but I've seen too many bloggers do so only to have their words edited, distorted and purposefully misconstrued to feel it's worth it to put my two (or twenty) cents out there. All my rantings have stayed at the dinner table or in emails. I'm struggling to keep those rants off this page and every time I sit down to write I think, do I really need the aggravation that comes with taking a side on an issue? Do I really need to spend all day defending my words? Nah, not really.

I've seen some atrocious behavior in the past week from some people who think of themselves as activists but are nothing more than opportunists. I've seen people react to the opportunists with even more idiocy. And I've seen the true colors of people I thought better of. If this thing were a Hollywood screenplay, I'd be laughing at the absurdity of it. But it's not. And as such, I have the urge to just put my hands over my eyes and pretend the whole thing isn't happening.

We've reached new lows. Didn't think that was possible.

Comments

Really?

Madden06 came out this week so I haven't noticed.

I haven't become less moderate in my positions, but I must admit I've become more strident in my tone when I've debated people lately. I've gotten sick of people making a whole set of assumptions about me, and the impossibility of overcoming those assumptions makes me snap quickly. Still, no excuse, shame on me.

The depersonalization factor seems to have reached an all-time high; people often project a caricatured mask upon the person with whom they disagree, and that's a shame.

By the way, great photo.

I'm right about where you are, 'Chele. Anymore, it's less about policy and more about theater, to put it in a nutshell.

Just have to remember to keep GIFT in mind.

Sometimes it seems like everyone is blogging about the political event of the day. It's enough to make a person wonder why anyone else should bother: Hasn't everyone commented on this subject already?

But that's not the point. Anyone can try to sing, but only those who sing well are worth hearing. The rest can range anywhere from bland to as irritating as fingers on a blackboard. Lileks of Screedblog was interviewed on the radio recently and, accepting a compliment about his blogging said:

"Well, I haven't an original thought in my mind. I just have new ways of putting them together."

A unique and very worthwhile way of putting political ideas together is what brought myself, and I'll wager many others, to this weblog in the first place. Is it my hallucination, or was the average number of comments on the weblog much greater six months ago?

But that's not the point. Anyone can try to sing, but only those who sing well are worth hearing.

But what about those who sing well, but have yet to be heard?

Or put more relevantly with regard to this thread: What about those who sing well, but have yet to be heard on this day's particular political subject?

Excessive radio play killed it.