I was recently informed that I write too much. Further, by providing links on Facebook, I am advertising my writing, which is apparently wrong somehow.
I'm not sure how and why this is bugging me, but it has really got under my skin. Do I write too much? I started to think I have; moreover, I think it far better to write less, and write it well, than write more, no matter how much rattles around my mostly empty skull. Furthermore, after four years of writing on the Internet, I just knew that, with the rise of a new Republican majority in the House (and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell acting like he's majority leader), there would be plenty of opportunities for me to huff and puff about how truly stupid and horrible and full of crap so much of our public discourse is; yet, this is no less true than when the Democrats were in control of Congress, the fault hardly lies with Republicans. The rhetorical nightmare that has been the national response to the Tucson shootings is evidence enough for me that we are a deeply flawed country, unable to confront an event like this in anything like a sane, contrite manner. Rather than exhaust my outrage button because I would keep hitting it, I am just going to allow the vast majority of the stupid to pass me by.
Furthermore, this site was never intended as a running commentary on our stupid discourse. That I bogged myself down that way far too often is my own fault. My New Year's Resolution to refocus has been aided by my decision to no longer get too upset by the constant flow of crap that is too much of our mainstream social and political commentary. Years of complaining, not just from me but all over the Internet hasn't changed the nature of our discourse one bit. So, far better to lean toward one's strengths, true?
So, sure, I write on the internet. Because I've always wanted to do that, there are topics that interest me; more important, I think they are important, serious topics, and I try best I can to treat them as such without (I hope) ever losing any sense that I am a walk-on, a bit player in so many of the discussions of the topics about which I write. My own preferences are eclectic enough that my guess is most of those who read are left scratching their heads, wondering why I'm wasting my time. That it is my time to waste should be clear enough, I suppose.
Finally, as to posting links on FB, like most writers (J. D. Salinger is the exception that proves the rule), I write so others can read what I've written. While the initial exercise is little more than making clear in my own mind what I might think about this or that topic under consideration, I put this stuff up on the internet to see if what I have to say, and the way I say it, makes any sense. Most of the time, I guess the answer on both counts is "No". All the same, I continue to do it, and to post those links, in the hope that someone, somewhere, finds something in my various typing exercises to make them mad enough, or sad enough, or frustrated enough, to start thinking for themselves. If you find those Facebook links too much, all I can say is, "Don't push that button!"
Finally, as a general response, I have to ask, "Why do you care?"
