What This Is And Why I Do It

     I love a good debate. Who doesn't? It doesn't have to be on any topic in particular. I love a good sports debate, like whether or not Barry Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame. Politics are always fun too, and political debate can really help you keep your Facebook friends list under control. Music can start some great arguments in the right crowd. I have seen friendships nearly dissolve over differing views on relationships or child-rearing. Star Trek vs Star Wars, DC vs Marvel, CNN vs FoxNews... wars could be started for less. The internet has changed the world in a way that no other technological advancement ever could: it brought us the realization that everything can be an argument.

     I don't actively seek arguments, but Twitter and Facebook and social media in general have made it almost unavoidable. Any ideas you post on those sites are either too short to get your point across before they get attacked, or too long for anyone to bother reading. No one is looking for information or exchanges of ideas, everyone is looking for a spot to drop a cool one-liner and be declared the winner of the verbal exchange. It's enough to make you want to disconnect altogether. I have too much to say to disconnect, though. There are just too many thoughts in my head to not share, but I refuse to keep sharing them a sentence or two at a time with people who either agree with me for no other reason than because they feel that they should, or disagree with me for much the same reason.

     I needed a way to get my thoughts out, in their entirety, without all the back and forth. Some ideas probably only need a few sentences, while others need a few pages. This blog will contain those ideas. I will jump around from one topic to another. Anything is fair game. Hopefully some of this might interest you, or someone you know, and lead you to thinking about it. Ideally you'll think about it enough to talk to others about it. We might agree (or not), but agreement isn't the goal. If we disagree, I want you to look at things differently, or get me to think of it differently. If we agree, I want you to know you aren't alone in the way you think, and maybe help you understand why you think that way. No insults, no threats, just ideas. My ideas. Agree if you want, argue if you must, but at least think about it.