I have decided to revive my blog as a means of communicating with friends and family, as opposed to using Facebook or Twitter. I am not doing so as a “protest”, but simply because I choose not to be a source of profit for any platform which actively silences those with whom they do not agree, politically or otherwise. Today it may be a political opponent, tomorrow it may well be religion, or a host of other possible “offenses”.
It is true that interacting via blog posting takes a bit more effort than social media, but that’s okay. The old axiom is actually true – things worth doing are worth doing well. And, exchanging ideas, and actual meaningful conversation, takes some effort. It requires gaining understanding of a given subject (knowing what you believe, and why you believe it), as well as being able to communicate that understanding. It requires thought, and it requires effort to communicate that thought. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but not so much for meaningful conversation. Using excess words just to hear oneself speak is, indeed, tedious for all concerned. Bloviating, as I refer to it. 🙂 Talking without really saying anything. But that should not be confused with taking the time to carefully lay out one’s thoughts and ideas in a manner which allows others to understand them. A large part of the problem we face today is that we have learned both to communicate and consume ideas via pithy sound bites. We live in a world dominated by catchy quotes and slogans used to reflect our “beliefs”, often with no context of where the quote originates, and even more often with no understanding of the deeper meaning or intention of said quote. We have learned to talk past one another instead of speaking to one another. We blast out little blurbs, “drop the mic” (which has been “dropped” so often it is now more like a tin can hitting the floor in terms of impact), put our fingers in our ears so as not to hear any dissent, and walk away, thinking we’ve really made some profound impact, or offered some profound truth. And, in return, those who disagree often fire back with equally innocuous replies (facist, Nazi, snowflake, moron, whatever), but no real substantive explanation of their counterpoint, often because of an equal lack of understanding of their own position. These are intellectually lazy forms of communication. That’s not to say there is never a time and place for pithy slogans or comments, or concise terms, but there should be an understanding of the actual meaning behind them, and an ability to engage with those who question the sentiment conveyed. Real communication requires understanding of a subject, ability to communicate your understanding, as well as the ability to carefully listen to and consider what the other person is saying. When that happens, you may not always have a quick response. You may have to actually mull over the other person’s point. You may have to further investigate and consider what they have said. And, that’s ok. When both people do that, they are both better for it. And, in the end, whether you persuade someone to agree with you or not, you can, at a minimum, agree to disagree, and walk away with a respect for one another regardless. This used to be the actual normal course of affairs – people exchanging ideas, engaging one another, using logic, rhetoric, and reason. Today, we angrily shout our “beliefs” at everyone else, refusing to even consider what they are saying in reply. And, quite often that is because we lack full understanding and, thus, confidence, in what we believe, and don’t want to consider anything that might contradict that belief. We want to cling to our subjective feelings instead of objective facts.
So, I truly hope that here, in this tiny little corner of the electronic universe…we can actually talk to one another, and that you will take the time and make the effort to become part of the conversation. 🙂
Let's talk about it.... 
You’ve made some excellent points! Bloviating is a HUGE problem with our society. We compete to see who sounds more intellectual yet the words chosen have no meaning. Arguments become a repeat of talking points, heard from other sources (like the media) and, without research for truth and accuracy, are reworded using a thesaurus. Further, the use of pithy quotes and words like facist, nazi, etc are used way too lightly and those who hurl it at others clearly do not understand the meaning behind these terms and are often projecting what they claim to be protesting. Finally, your point on communicating ideas, using logic and reason is certainly lacking in our conversations. We’ve all become experts on what is best for each other based on what we think is best for ourselves, personally, which is a disaster if one has no real idea why they believe what they do. We’ve taken out logic and replaced it with emotion, basing all decisions, big and small, on how we feel. I’ll admit, I’ve had to research several debatable topics that have made headline news, reading from both liberal and conservative sources, only to find the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But that’s ok, that allows me to have a decent conversation with a bit more of an objective view.
Thank you! 🙂 And, thank you for commenting and engaging! 🙂
And, you are correct. We need to look at the facts on any subject before drawing conclusions. This is true even just in our every day relationships with one another. We are so quick to assume the worst before knowing, or even attempting to find out, all the facts!