Friday, May 21, 2010

From the private diary…

I am not a social critic. I don’t honestly believe rant-journalism does any good and think that it’s a nasty sort of entertainment. Why then do I indulge in it myself?

The clue is that an inherent problem plagues certain kinds of public blogging. I noticed, for example, that, of late, political commentary has begun to flourish on the Maverick Philosopher. Daily posting exhausts human resources. None of us is all that interesting or original; hence we reach for public issues when inspiration lags. Daily irritation with the culture is always there as stimulus—unless we’ve genuinely mastered a “media fast.” Countless blogs express this oceanic discontent. The majority rant leftways, the minority right. Neither is all that appetizing. Yield, by all means, to the temptations of silence. Now there is something worth thinking about…

8 comments:

  1. I like the idea of a media fast; I think most people would benefit from trying one occasionally. The danger is always letting one's mind get sidetrack from useful and beautiful things into mere fume and fulmination.

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  2. How the heck did Mom put a video into one of her comments the other day? I would really have liked to have been able to share one of my photos as "the sound of silence" (or as the sound of a media fast) but I haven't the least idea how to begin... I'm clueless. I am totally floored by my mother's computer savviness! Oh, and I liked this post too!

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  3. Yield, by all means, to the temptation of silence.

    What a great line!

    Inserting a photo or video in a blog comment, that beats me too, Michelle.

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  4. Send me links to that image, Michelle, and I'll put it up as a post... As for Brigitte's ability to put pics in comments, I've been trying to get her to tell me, but she sort of waves her arms and says she doesn't remember anymore. It sort of happened. That's how Mother Nature operates too...

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  5. What comes after the silence?

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  6. After the silence, one hopes, comes new inspiration.

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  7. That would be best.

    Anyway, when I publish one of those posts that are not original and not insightful - happens more and more these days - they embarass me. Silence is a blessing.

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  8. Montag: Yes. Feeling that same embarrassment over some of my own produced this post...

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