Anyone who's a regular reader of this journal must have long since noted how much of a political firebrand I can be. I've written a great deal, often in very strident terms, about political issues that have set alight my ideals about what's right and wrong for the country and the world. You may have also noticed a drop-off in those types of posts recently.

One reason for that is that recently I've been spouting off about politics in the News Forum of our local paper, the Columbia Daily Tribune. If you want a recent sample of me mixing it up with the other side of the ideological spectrum, check it out (watch out for flying spit).

The other, and main, reason is that I've lately been feeling the corrosive effects of politics on my psyche. There's a folder in my inbox full of political blog-topics, all lined up neatly and waiting to be torn into with all the evangelical articulation I can muster, but I've found myself not touching them, nor wanting to. I've found that after a prolonged bout of attacking these issues, and debating them with people so far (in my mind) from the truth, a certain despair starts to set in. And then I begin to think that approach isn't the right battlefield for my ideals.

Does that mean I'm giving up on my ideals, abandoning the championing of progressive values? No way. It's probably just a matter of time before something riles me up to the degree that I have to detonate another word-bomb over it.

But I'm feeling like a different approach to things is in order, and we'll see how that develops in time. I'm just starting to get the feeling that I don't want the ultimate identity of this journal or site to be one of ranting, no matter how truly I believe in the principles I'm espousing. Spreading awareness of the things I learn of will continue to be an important part of this site, but I hope to allow more room for the sharing of discoveries and enthusiasms along the way. Or, in a nutshell, to spend more time promoting what's good, and what could be, than railing against what's bad. And when presenting bad news, to try different approaches to it.

That doesn't mean turning this into the sunshine & happiness channel--but if my ideal is for a better world, perhaps there's a benefit in focusing more on what that would be like.

Labels: Politics