Saturday, December 22, 2001
You Can Tell I'm Getting Older
I'm finding that Andy Rooney's column is the first one that I read on the Op Ed page. He holds up an honest mirror to our society in the language of "everyman." Here are some of his comments from today's Albany Times Union:"
Four hundred Taliban soldiers were taken prisoner and stuffed into a container and transported several hours to a prison camp. Many died of suffocation. (Now, why hadn't I read that anywhere else?)
I look at pictures of captured soldiers who were members of the evil Taliban. Do I study them and mutter, 'Kill the bastards!' No, I do not. I say 'Poor bastards they don't look like bad guys. I like their hats. They don't look any different from the guys who captured them. I'll be they're not any different.'
The trouble with me and a lot of Americans is our opinions are fomed by information we get from people trying to form our opinions. We make up our minds based on propaganda, advertising, prejudice, failure to pay attention, and stupidity.
It seems to me that there are a lot of Americans who feel the same way. But we can't be heard over our government's propaganda and advertising.
Comments
I'm finding that Andy Rooney's column is the first one that I read on the Op Ed page. He holds up an honest mirror to our society in the language of "everyman." Here are some of his comments from today's Albany Times Union:"
Four hundred Taliban soldiers were taken prisoner and stuffed into a container and transported several hours to a prison camp. Many died of suffocation. (Now, why hadn't I read that anywhere else?)
I look at pictures of captured soldiers who were members of the evil Taliban. Do I study them and mutter, 'Kill the bastards!' No, I do not. I say 'Poor bastards they don't look like bad guys. I like their hats. They don't look any different from the guys who captured them. I'll be they're not any different.'
The trouble with me and a lot of Americans is our opinions are fomed by information we get from people trying to form our opinions. We make up our minds based on propaganda, advertising, prejudice, failure to pay attention, and stupidity.
It seems to me that there are a lot of Americans who feel the same way. But we can't be heard over our government's propaganda and advertising.
Comments
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Big Picture, Little Picture
So, there are some discussions going these days on about the purpose and value of weblogs. Oddly enough, the other night at my bi-monthly group meeting, I mentioned that I had begun a weblog, and I was asked to explain what that was and why I was doing it, and why I just wasn't keeping a journal. As I've said, I've unsuccessfully tried keeping journals before and I write so much slower than I think that I got frustrated and quit. I can type almost as fast as I think (I got used to doing that at the job from which I retired last year, which involved mostly whipping out quick documents for others to share and claim as their own.) So, it's easier to do it on the computer. And why don't I just keep a journal on disk, I was asked. The truth is, I admitted, is that I'm used to writing for an audience. And I like having an audience. Even my poems are usually written with an audience (sometimes of one) in mind. It's why I ballroom dance. I'm a performer at heart. I need ways to say to the world: this is who I am. Look at me. Pay attention. It seems to me that that's at the heart of why everyone else who keeps a blog does so. In a world where we all have to live up to expectations and assume roles for survival purposes (our own and others) -- caregiver, mother, employee, citizen -- it's so satisfying to have a place where one can BE who one is. Or in some cases, where one can BE who one wants to BE. It really doesn't matter. We can create who we want to be or be creative with who we are. Either way, one has an identity, a voice. In a way, it's kind of a new art form -- or at least it can evolve in some cases into such. How cool is that!
Comments
So, there are some discussions going these days on about the purpose and value of weblogs. Oddly enough, the other night at my bi-monthly group meeting, I mentioned that I had begun a weblog, and I was asked to explain what that was and why I was doing it, and why I just wasn't keeping a journal. As I've said, I've unsuccessfully tried keeping journals before and I write so much slower than I think that I got frustrated and quit. I can type almost as fast as I think (I got used to doing that at the job from which I retired last year, which involved mostly whipping out quick documents for others to share and claim as their own.) So, it's easier to do it on the computer. And why don't I just keep a journal on disk, I was asked. The truth is, I admitted, is that I'm used to writing for an audience. And I like having an audience. Even my poems are usually written with an audience (sometimes of one) in mind. It's why I ballroom dance. I'm a performer at heart. I need ways to say to the world: this is who I am. Look at me. Pay attention. It seems to me that that's at the heart of why everyone else who keeps a blog does so. In a world where we all have to live up to expectations and assume roles for survival purposes (our own and others) -- caregiver, mother, employee, citizen -- it's so satisfying to have a place where one can BE who one is. Or in some cases, where one can BE who one wants to BE. It really doesn't matter. We can create who we want to be or be creative with who we are. Either way, one has an identity, a voice. In a way, it's kind of a new art form -- or at least it can evolve in some cases into such. How cool is that!
Comments
Still Trying
I'm still trying to figure out how to do include all of the things on this site that I want to include, in particular a Navigation list to other blogs. I just haven't figured out yet how to do it on this template.
Since bix linked to me from his site, I noticed that at least one other person picked up up and how links to me from her site. So, now I feel compelled to to do the hard work and figure this out. How the hell do I put in a link to contact me???
Twenty years ago -- even ten years ago -- this all would have been a piece of cake, both to find the time to and to figure out how to do it. But, as my long-dead grandmother used to say in Polish" "Staroszcz nie radoszcz." (Getting old ain't no fun.)
I am finding this whole blogging thing curiously engaging, since I've never been able to write fast enough to keep a journal. But I type really fast, so this might well wind up being my legacy to the world at large (like it cares!). But I do care. About a lot of things. And this is one place that I can record what's on my mind, in my heart, and stuck in my craw. So, look out, cyberworld, here I come.
Comments
I'm still trying to figure out how to do include all of the things on this site that I want to include, in particular a Navigation list to other blogs. I just haven't figured out yet how to do it on this template.
Since bix linked to me from his site, I noticed that at least one other person picked up up and how links to me from her site. So, now I feel compelled to to do the hard work and figure this out. How the hell do I put in a link to contact me???
Twenty years ago -- even ten years ago -- this all would have been a piece of cake, both to find the time to and to figure out how to do it. But, as my long-dead grandmother used to say in Polish" "Staroszcz nie radoszcz." (Getting old ain't no fun.)
I am finding this whole blogging thing curiously engaging, since I've never been able to write fast enough to keep a journal. But I type really fast, so this might well wind up being my legacy to the world at large (like it cares!). But I do care. About a lot of things. And this is one place that I can record what's on my mind, in my heart, and stuck in my craw. So, look out, cyberworld, here I come.
Comments
