There was a blog that I used to visit daily. It was informative and just plain interesting. It was critical of the present Administration, which I liked, but also informative. After a while though, the criticism became more and more shrill-to the point that the entries became less about thoughtful analysis or even just asking questions. Instead they became rants. I don't look at the blog much anymore because I have no time for five entries per day about how evil Bush and the Republican party are. For that matter I also have no time for conservative blogs that make the President the best thing since sliced bread and attack all those who don't see things their way.
Andrew Sullivan opines how blogs have become so partisan and basically draw lines instead actually probing and searching for answers. Leave aside the fact that Sully was doing much of what he deplored early on in the Bush Adminstration, I tend to agree. Blogs like the one I described throw a lot of heat, but shed little light. I really don't want this blog to become a place where I'm ranting every moment about something all the time. I hope it hasn't become that. I'm critical of the current leadership of the GOP , but I also have some beefs with the Dems as well. II want my criticism to be constructive and not just a rant to blow steam.
I really hope this blog can be a place where one can be critical without being meanspirited. It seems like charity and civility are such short supply in our nation, especially in the blogoshere.
Posted by Dennis at January 20, 2005 12:03 AMThe worst thing that came out of the November election was a sense that each side hated the other because each thought the other to be so wrong on "God, guns, gays, and abortion". Actually, that perception didn't occur to me until after the election, whereas, if we were really so far apart, it would have surfaced much earlier. What drove it was the post-election commentary from the "talking heads." It still continues as I hear CNN guests and read blogs stating that Democrats don't attend church and Republicans don't care about the environment. I say enough with the generalities - let's act like the intelligent people we are and find some common ground.
Posted by: Teena at January 24, 2005 07:03 PMOne problem is the sheer number of blogs that have proliferated in the past two years. This makes it even harder to find those dedicated to common ground solutions more than partisan bloodletting.
In my opinion, Mark Satin and others who form the Radical Middle movement seem to have the best "common ground" blogs and portals.
Posted by: Robert Benjamin at January 20, 2005 12:47 PMMost of the blogs I've come across I don't read anymore for exactly that reason. Shrill is tedious. That's also why yours is one of the handful or so I DO read regularly. Even though you're a (gasp) Republican. :-)
Posted by: Brian at January 20, 2005 09:49 AM