Does the World Really need another Political Blog?

Does the World Really Need Another Political Blog????

The answer to that question is undoubtedly "no". This blog owes its existence to the idea that i seem to need to write one.  Whether you need to read it is something you'll have to decide.

It's worth taking a minute, though, to explain what brings me to this point of feeling the need to, as the blog title suggests, pontificate on progressive issues.  I will start by saying that nearly everyone that I'm in any way related to (and this includes second cousins and former in-laws) is a staunch conservative.  We're talking Rush Limbaugh listening, Drudge Report reading, Obama is a Socialist Conservatives.  I'm basically a peaceful, let's all get along type of person, and as things heated up in the last election, I found myself having to bite my tongue a lot to keep from lashing out at what I perceived as untenable views on the direction the country should take. 

My interactions on Facebook are the best illustration of this.  Like a lot of people, I use Facebook as a way of staying in touch with friends and relatives and to see what's happening in their lives.  As I went about reading entries on kids' birthdays and pet peeves, I also had to wade through some rather strong, provocative political statements (Hit "like" if you think Obama was born in Kenya).  My immediate reaction was to write comments declaiming the absurd or obviously incorrect statement, but I soon found that this was counterproductive to the reason for my logging onto Facebook in the first place.  I was there because I wanted to connect in a positive way with friends and family, and I discovered that by getting into heated political arguments, I was defeating that purpose. 

So, I just bit my tongue most of the time.  When one family member consistently posted political jabs that raised my  blood pressure every time I logged on, I finally had to use the hide function to hide that person's posts from my news feed.  The narrative in my mind was that by exercising restraint, I was promoting the greater good by keeping peace with my relatives.

Throughout this time, I have been gradually becoming much more of an avid follower of politics and forming strong opinions based on what I have read and observed.   After the recently concluded national election, it's become even more clear to me that elections matter, and that politics is much more than a silly game of one-upmanship played between sometimes comical characters (although it is definitely that!)  Elections really do matter, and politics can affect a lot of people's lives.

Sorry about that rather convoluted history, but we're back now to the reason I'm writing this blog.  It allows me to say things that every ounce of my being is longing to say, if only as a voice in the ether that no one pays any attention to.  It allows me to continue keeping peace on Facebook without feeling that I'm selling out my own strongly held beliefs and opinions by remaining silent.   I can now respond to political statements and opinions of my beloved relatives with a simple "Please see my blog post on this topic".  Since most of them know I'm a crazy commie pinko liberal, they will know what to expect is in that blog post.  If they don't feel like arguing, they can simply not read the post.  If, heaven forbid, they should want to know what I think, they have made the choice to engage on the topic, and I have not forced it on them.  

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