Why?

If you are a regular reader, you should have noticed some changes around here. The most obvious is the change in format. I found the old one cluttered and a little hard to read. Hopefully the new one is better.

If you are really good you noticed I changed the blog description. The old one, "Language, Linguistics, God, the Devil..." is still relevant. I still plan to talk about all those things. I also plan to talk about more. The new one is inspired by Marc over at Philadaddy. And it reflects an attitude I am trying to foment.

I am not a joiner. I am not much of a doer. But I am interested in politics. I struggle with why should I care. And this new slogan helps me focus on why.

Some people have asked, "why bother with politics?" The answer is not always so obvious. If politicians are generally corrupt and the system is complex and the scale of our soicety is overwhelming, what can one person do? I know I have very little power, often just one vote and not much more.

So I started thinking about conversations more and why I should join this one in particular. One thing I came up with is that I think there is a fifth conversation type:

The Reality Check: The participant just wants others to know that his opinion exists.

I think I like talking about politics for this reason. I don't want to be a "silent majority". We are, afterall, trying to have a society here. And for me society means a place where people can discuss what they think. Even if it's just to reaffirm that there are differences.

I also enjoy a good Pissing Match every now and then, but only if all participants know that it's a Pissing Match and don't take it too seriously.

I don't think I'm particularly interested in Sales Pitches. I'm pretty sure I won't convince anyone with deeply held beliefs. But I'm not against trying. That said, I often hear from Liberals (I'm talking Folk Party types, not American Liberals)a sense that other's rights stop when they infringe on their rights. They are very sensitive to being impinged upon by others. So arguing with them about ideas is very delicate. That just seems wrong. I firmly believe that ideas can be right and wrong and so I'm ready to argue them. We are, afterall, trying to have a society here.