It has become painfully clear to me that I have a distinctly un-American mindset. Not only do I care about politics, which is certainly a rarity in and of itself, I also have this strange desire to make informed decisions. Admittedly, this is the sort of virtue the Founders wanted to cultivate in all the people. But when we consider any of the myriad of polls that seek to quantify American ignorance, I think it's safe to say they failed. For instance, a recent survey revealed that more than one half of Americans were able to name at least two members of the Simpsons family while only about a fourth could name more than one of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. (When I told some friends and peers about this awesome statistic, the result was even more disheartening. Each one proceeded to try and name the five freedoms you see, and well, most of them didn't get too far.) This rampant ignorance manifests itself in our susceptibility to demagoguery and our clear desire to view everything as an unnuanced clash between the forces of good and evil. This is why we have the ridiculous birther controversy, which Jon Stewart assails hilariously, or the stupefying debate over what forms of torture--excuse me--enhanced interrogation techniques are appropriate.
It is this tragic context which compels me to write and quixotically search for other like-minded people to have a real conversation, a conversation about things that matter. I could go talk about sports or movies or some other frivolous topic with almost anyone I choose. But in the face of major problems like climate change, the War on Terror (or whatever we're going to call it now), and the growing national debt, such discussions can only leave me unsatisfied. Instead, I wanted a forum for discussing all the things that have been banished from "polite conversation". And that's why I started Verbal Vigilantes. I want to offer my views and I want people to disagree and argue with me about it. Most importantly, I want to be proven wrong because that's when we learn.
I confess that the name Verbal Vigilantes is a little bit optimistic and dishonest at the moment. The implied plurality is greatly overstated; it's pretty much just me. However, I'm always looking to add new members that share my love for writing and my interests (though not necessarily my views), so let me know if you're interested. Ultimately, when and if the community grows large enough, we will implement a revenue sharing program so that the benefits of participation have a material and an intellectual component. I know I for one can't imagine a better career than blogging--reading, learning, and writing all day on your schedule and no commute required, what could be better?
The full community will be located at verbalvigilantes.com, but hopefully this site will give us (i.e. me) a less obscure presence in the blogging community. (The actual site uses Drupal, and I've had trouble in the past getting indexed properly by Technorati, so I just decided to set up a mirror.) Additionally, the community site will have articles about members' personal lives (if they choose), creative writing pieces, and recipes as well for healthy cuisine. There's no good way to categorize those things on Blogger. Thus, the content here will be restricted to the substantive things I mentioned before, lest someone should come seeking a discussion of foreign policy and hear instead about my lack of a love life. No one wants that. That said, I would encourage you to check out the main site for it will be easier to search for exactly what you're looking for and I imagine the bulk of the discussion will take place there also.
Another feature of the main site is a forum where members can discuss each other's writing technique rather than the content. I alluded earlier to my passion for writing, and one of my goals in starting the community was to become a better writer and to help others with a similar quest. Good writing is a scarce thing, but I'd like to do my part to fill the void.
Anyway thanks for stopping by and I look forward to your comments.
It is this tragic context which compels me to write and quixotically search for other like-minded people to have a real conversation, a conversation about things that matter. I could go talk about sports or movies or some other frivolous topic with almost anyone I choose. But in the face of major problems like climate change, the War on Terror (or whatever we're going to call it now), and the growing national debt, such discussions can only leave me unsatisfied. Instead, I wanted a forum for discussing all the things that have been banished from "polite conversation". And that's why I started Verbal Vigilantes. I want to offer my views and I want people to disagree and argue with me about it. Most importantly, I want to be proven wrong because that's when we learn.
I confess that the name Verbal Vigilantes is a little bit optimistic and dishonest at the moment. The implied plurality is greatly overstated; it's pretty much just me. However, I'm always looking to add new members that share my love for writing and my interests (though not necessarily my views), so let me know if you're interested. Ultimately, when and if the community grows large enough, we will implement a revenue sharing program so that the benefits of participation have a material and an intellectual component. I know I for one can't imagine a better career than blogging--reading, learning, and writing all day on your schedule and no commute required, what could be better?
The full community will be located at verbalvigilantes.com, but hopefully this site will give us (i.e. me) a less obscure presence in the blogging community. (The actual site uses Drupal, and I've had trouble in the past getting indexed properly by Technorati, so I just decided to set up a mirror.) Additionally, the community site will have articles about members' personal lives (if they choose), creative writing pieces, and recipes as well for healthy cuisine. There's no good way to categorize those things on Blogger. Thus, the content here will be restricted to the substantive things I mentioned before, lest someone should come seeking a discussion of foreign policy and hear instead about my lack of a love life. No one wants that. That said, I would encourage you to check out the main site for it will be easier to search for exactly what you're looking for and I imagine the bulk of the discussion will take place there also.
Another feature of the main site is a forum where members can discuss each other's writing technique rather than the content. I alluded earlier to my passion for writing, and one of my goals in starting the community was to become a better writer and to help others with a similar quest. Good writing is a scarce thing, but I'd like to do my part to fill the void.
Anyway thanks for stopping by and I look forward to your comments.
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