As someone keenly suspicious of all things blogish, I suppose at the beginning of this blog I should offer some defense, some justification, for having a blog. I will not. I will, however, offer my top ten reasons that I do not have a blog:
- There are not enough blogs out there. Even the more dedicated technophile must recognize that this is bunk. Everyone has a blog. I know pets that have blogs. I have even noted that students who aren’t doing well in their Composition class have blogs. Their name is Legion.
- Most blogs are worth reading. This is lunacy. Spend 15 minutes reading random blogs. You will immediately have a desire to pull your money out of the bank and move to a country that does not have computers. It is a leper colony out there and I believe that it will get worse. I bet that our President Elect (as if we have some other President…who is that guy?) will have his Presidential blog up and running before the ink is dry on the first stimulus package. Most blogs make me want to put my eyes out…or at least wear very, very dark sunglasses.
- They are great places to rip on your enemies…or better yet your friends. This is the worst thing about the “culture of the sincere” that we “enjoy” now. People seem to have swallowed the idea that if you feel something deeply enough you have a right—nay, a duty—to post it for the world to see. When people apply to teach atVeritas
Academy
, I Google them and check for blogs. My favorite one result was when I found a promising candidate who—every Monday without fail—posted the most caustic review of yesterday’s sermon along with a few choice insults on the intelligence and mental abilities of his pastor. I asked him about this when I called to let him know that he was no longer under consideration. He was stunned! He thought it outrageous that I was worried that after I hired him his blogs would turn into “What my idiot Headmaster said yesterday…” This desire to rip people globally is sort of ill. If you are looking for that here. Go elsewhere.
- All of my thoughts are worth you reading them. Again, this sort of thinking is bunk. Some people tend to post things that make one wonder about the standards that they are using to treat things as important. I have no plans to write about toothbrushing or shoe tying or the cost of eggs. Look these things up if you need help.
- This is the way we will communicate in the future. I hope not. I am not as scared as some folks about the virtual world but that is just because I live inLancaster
County
. Propane is high technology for some here. I pass horses on the road almost every day. I hope that the future is more human more personal more real.
- My deepest emotions need an outlet. Yuck! Please, if you have deep emotions, keep them tamped down or treat them with some dignity. While I do rant from time to time, I will not make this one of those bear my burdens unless something really bad happens. You have enough problems of your own. I will not give you too many of mine. I have a refrigerator two steps from my desk. Most longings never get off the runway for me.
- I have time to kill. This is not the case—way not the case. Whatever the opposite of time is, that is what I have. I have loads of the opposite of time. I type quickly and often think slower than I type (thus, I might from time to time have some retractions).
- Writing is good for you so practice, practice, practice will I. While this is a generally true for students, I see little evidence that blogs are contributing to an upsurge in good prose or poetry. On the contrary, they tend to lead to new (unique?) grammatical constructions, self-directed spelling and sentences that defy all efforts foisted about them to squeeze out some sensible meaning.
- The world is bleak and I need to shine this light into the darkness or we will all Atlantis-like crumble into the sea. I bet not. Some seem to invest a sort of self-importance in their blog as if they are on a mission—or maybe a blog/mission or blmission. This is not a quest for the Holy Grail. I think that the world is doing ok and if I stop now it will, I believe, still end up getting where God would have it go.
- Blogging is fun. It might be, but I am not sure that it is yet. Still, I will preserve and hope that it is enjoyable, if not for you, at least for me.
Well, that is why I do not have this blog. You might wonder then, naturally, why do I have this blog? Again, you are delving into deep feelings (see #6 above). Know this: I have my reasons and they are good. If you enjoy what I write, keep reading. If not, read something else, but read something good, in fact, try this:
