Have you ever got up in the morning and said to yourself, "Oh, this is a beautiful day! Oh, this is a glorious day! Joy to the world! I feel serene!" And then you pick up the newspaper and you say, "Oh, Lord, they wouldn't do that?!"
-- "Brother Dave" Gardner
Part of my job involves staying informed about what's going on. I expect it of my students, particularly since I give them current events quizzes each week. But I have to stay informed, too. Besides that, it's something a good citizen should do, anyway.
On the other hand, it's awful hard to stay informed without getting dejected these days. And, some days, you shake your head and wonder what the hell it's all coming to. Certainly since, in the last two decades or so, our public discourse has turned into a really bad television show in which the teams are more focused on cutthroat competition, outrageous antics and up-yours endzone dances than anything of lasting benefit.
Which, among other reasons, is why this blog stays out of public affairs, except in certain circumstances. I write these little meditations as a diversion for myself, to share with the world some things that, I hope, we can take some mutual interest in regardless of where we are on the spectrum. Besides, there's plenty other people out there on the Internet doing political crap now, right-wing and left-wing. Go see them if that's what you want. I really don't want any part of it here. I'll write my representatives and cast my ballots on my own time, my own way, thank you. And I don't want to give voice, or space, here to polarization. It never gets anything done. Nor do I want to get my inbox flooded by people who either think what I write is the greatest stuff ever written and that I should run for office or have a talk show, or clogged with hate mail from people who think I'm either a fascist or a commie and should be run over by a bread truck at the earliest possible opportunity.
(By the way, if you've read this blog for however long and you think you've figured out my political views, or think I speak for you...well, no matter what you may have concluded, guess again. And then guess that answer again. Sure, you may find some things here and there that resonate, but I can guarantee there's stuff in my views that would comfort, distress and confound conservatives and liberals alike. That's part of why I don't let myself be bound by an organization or a label. Plus, I'm skeptical of every candidate, every party, every movement, every organization, every conspiracy theory, every talk show host...you name it, at least in that realm, and I'm a skeptic. I'm not necessarily a "skeptic" in the hostile sense; rather, if you make a claim or an assertion, I really want to know how you got there, and what you're basing it on. I've seen too much, learned too much from history, and know too much about the cycles of politics and media to take any of it at face value. Nor do I want to join any organizations or parties or groups in the political sphere. If I did, I'd give up my independence, and I've had bad experiences in which I've joined groups, only to find out they spend too much time on things with which I don't agree. No, thanks.)
None of that is why I'm here. I try to keep this blog as an oasis, a reasonably politics-free zone. I like it that way. There's plenty other places to go for the other stuff. But here, I like being out of the fray. I like the quiet and calm a lot better. If you read this little blog, I hope you find something here that's nice, too.
