Saturday, October 20, 2007

My Thoughts On Politics


I've had a number of posts lately regarding things that are out there in the news that are related to politics.

I've had this blog for over a year and a half now and have made over 600 posts here.

I've plainly spoken that I am a conservative, fiscally and socially, and I do not apologize for that.

Thing is, I know what I believe, and I know why I believe what I believe.

But if you are a liberal, a Democrat, or even a "progressive" then I have no problem with that. I have friends who are as well.

By and large the engineering world that I have been exposed to has lots of conservatives, the ones that care one jot about politics that is. But a number are die-in-the-wool liberals and like me, sure of their positions on the issues of the day.

When I talk about politics here, it's usually can be plainly seen that the underlying emotion of them is "How can liberals believe this way?".

But though I don't understand liberal trains of thought, I have tons of respect for anyone who is firm in their beliefs and knows why they believe what they believe.

If you have thought about and looked into matters and arrived at different conclusions than the ideas I express here, that's totally cool with me.

I might vehemently disagree with your conclusions and even your logic, but if you've truly thought it out and disagree with me, fine.

A blog is a strange thing. It's a way to express myself to many people which makes it seem like I'm feeling all special about myself and that I'm going to ram my ideas down your throats, but in reality, that's not what my intent is.

I think a lot. My job is thinking related. Thinking can be hard work but I have no illusions that I'm any better at it than anyone else.

I like to think I'm fairly logical and reasonably smart, but I also know that there are lots of folks out there way smarter than me.

This is just one man's blog. In the banner up there at the top of the page I say this, "Whatever I feel like talking about on any given day. You know. Stuff."

I mean that, I'm just shooting from the hip. This blog is a sounding board.

At least we live in America where, for the present time at least, we can express our own ideas in relative freedom.

So if I go on a political rant and you think I was a total idiot or a total genius, I respect that.

You would be surprised after reading all of my politically conservative rants over the past year and a half +, to see how many blogs I read where the people are politically liberal and although I disagree with them on many points, I like them a whole lot as individuals and our comments back and forth make me feel that they are my friends.

Can you have friends that you've never met in person? I think so.

Anyway, I guess the whole point of this post is that I do realize that my politically charged rants from time to time may cause folks who lean liberal or left of center or are flat out progressive not come back and read here any more.

While I don't lose any sleep over that because I'm sure a number of people just read and leave and never come back without commenting, so that I never know that they were here in the first place; I am concerned that my heavy-handedness in my political posts might cause someone to mistakenly feel I'm not worth the time to comment or hang around and read long enough to get to know me.

I'm a strange mix of things. I'm by nature a loner. I have to make an effort to engage people, and while most folks don't find interacting with others to take effort, for me it really does.

That's why this whole blogging thing is so strange. It's as if I can be a loner and also engage the whole world. A true dichotomy.

I like ideas and thinking, and I welcome an honest exchange of thoughts, ideas, and reasonings.

I totally understand that a person can be the political flip-side of me and yet be a much better person than I am. I have no lofty thoughts about myself about being superior in any way to anyone else, even though some may assume this after reading some of my posts.

Hey, I like to eat; everyone likes to eat, so come back sometime and, as they used to say in the 80s, let's do lunch.

If you don't want to comment on this blog, but you have something to say, a link to my email address is on my Blogger profile page. Feel welcome to write and send me an email with your thoughts.

That is all, carry on.

5 comments:

Mary said...

Wonderfully written post and beautiful pictures! I am all for expressing your opinion on my blog, as long as there is no flaming involved and we can remain decent, it's all good.

Travis Cody said...

I made a decision when I started blogging not to comment on political posts or to write them myself. And I've mainly kept to that vow.

I enjoy your photographs and your writing style, which is why I keep visiting.

photowannabe said...

I am pretty much the same way as Travis, my blogging is mostly about photographs and interacting with people who like to do the same.
I find the way you write and the pictures you post both interesting and thought provoking. That's why I come back and comment on your work.
Thanks for being so frank and open.

The Rock Chick said...

You know what I think? It's your blog and you should write what you want to write.

I wouldn't call myself really liberal, but I tend to lean towards the left. I think I'm kind of a middle roader and like to see what both sides say about something before making up my mind.

Your well-written posts always get me thinking and even if I decide that I don't agree, I think that's a great thing.

Keep on writing them!

Jessica

Robert O said...

Hi,
This is my first post and I just want to let you know that I share your basic political beliefs and I am a retired Aerospace engineer enjoying my time off. Hopefully for a long time, but we will see