I have spent sometime lately thinking about the direction I should take with my blog. Up until now my blog has been fairly random covering all kinds of topics from the concerned to the comedic. I have discussed zombies and politicians...not much of a difference there I guess. I have discussed my family, sports, movies and religion. As of late (I guess in the last 3-4 months) I have blogged less mostly because I have not had a lot to say about a lot of things. I have felt the need to back off from a lot of things just because I was taking them to personal. In particular the subject of politics became a sore subject for me. I am a liberal and growing up in the south it has felt many times like I am enemy #1 and the best thing I can do is either shut up and not take sides thus appearing to be more intellectual and "balanced" or follow my heart and become just part of the problem.
I am a passionate person. That is who I am. I do not know how to be silent and reserved. I feel deeply and hold to my ideals firmly. I am not a liberal just to be contrary. I truly believe in the ideals I uphold and I defend them vigorously. Unfortunately this is not considered a virtue these days so I have bit my tongue and am learning to just ignore the game of politics. Those proponents of tolerance, understanding and not taking sides only hold to that belief until it is something THEY are passionate about so I have tired of trying to keep up with them.
I see the world in black and white. Also another character trait of mine that has gotten me in trouble. I know there are grays in the world around me but I am also aware that without black and white there would be no grays. I believe there are absolutes and there are absolute truths. Two opposing opinions on definitive topics are rarely both right. They may often both be wrong, but rarely are they both right. I don't like grays. I don't like middle of the road. I don't like indefinite answers. I know that there are some of all of the above but quite frankly I don't like them and I rarely hold to a "gray" answer. Those that want to see everything in gray may accuse me of being dogmatic and close minded while I might accuse them of being too afraid to take a stand for something and too shallow to think through to the logical conclusions of the facts that are before them. I cannot stand on middle ground. It feels wrong in the depth of my heart.
I am aware that my upbringing has a lot to do with both of these character traits (or flaws as you might see them). I am aware that growing up in an old fashion home made me see the world in black and white. I am aware that early training as a preacher and a pastor made me very passionate about what I believe in. I acknowledge that I am not always right and that I am still growing and progressing in this journey but I also know that some things will probably never change in the way I view the world around me.
After much thought on my blog, and even at one point considering just closing it down, I have decided that I am going to go in a particular direction from now on. I have tried the "cutsey" "feely" approach, I have tried the passionate approach in politics and I have sort of bounced all over the board in between. However, upon deeper thought I have felt more and more a need to defend my lack of faith. I have come a long way in my thinking on the topic of religion and living in the south you often find yourself as almost an enemy if you are not one of the drones professing your trust in God and your belief in a deity of some kind.
I have had all kinds of reactions to my secular beliefs and the fact that I do not accept as fact, based on blind faith alone, the superstitions that completely engulf the world around me. I have had pity "bless your heart", I have had anger "how dare you question my faith" and I have had everything in between. Some I find more offensive than others but all show a lack of understanding of what I believe and how obvious the ideals and facts I hold as truth are, at least to me.
In light of this I have decided to take this blog and use it to speak in defense of secular atheism. I am sure at some point I will still have the random blogs about family or politics but overall the direction I will take, for now, will be about what I believe, how I respond to the questions, arguments and overall reactions to, not only what I believe, but also the arguments of those that have faith and religious beliefs. I have written this post more as a heads up, if you don't like this direction then maybe this is not the blog for you. I say this with a shake of my head since probably nobody reads this blog anymore anyway and I am therefore just speaking to the wind
Friday, March 18, 2011
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2 comments:
I haven`t been blogging for long but I too struggle with a "theme". I have basically decided to write what feels good at the time. That can mean a rant about the perils of dating, a book review, something my kids have done or some other interesting tidbit that has come my way. I think that if you feel good about the words on your screen, that will come through and your readers will appreciate it. Just don`t make the blog subject boundaries too rigid; let yourself go where you need to go on any given day. Let it be your outlet
I agree and have always practiced this. I am sure that random topics will still pop up from to time. I just happen to be a goal oriented person and I operate better if I have domed general direction. I had virtually stopped blogging just because random ideas were not coming to me. Having some sense of direction has already given me a lot of ideas to write on though I will not hesitate to blog on any random thought that impresses me enough to write about. Thanks for dropping by and commenting I hope to see you back!
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