So why would I share my thoughts in a blog? Am I too much of an introvert to actually talk to people in person? Do I really think people need me to talk to them about these things? Maybe not.
Do I also believe that silence is a form of acquiescence? Yes.
There is too much in the world that is wrong. Too many silent good people who are listening to loud mouthed idiots and talking about them, shaking their head and moving on. That was me, is me still. But since it’s not enough to have conversations in your living room, because no one is polling living rooms and somewhere along the way we became a democracy not a republic as was originally intended, I thought it necessary to stop keeping my thoughts to myself.
Will I change hearts over the internet? No. But this is my vote.
My vote on social issues, political issues, personal issues, “Because whatever anything is, it ought to start by being personal.” (Fair warning: there will be many movie quotes that only if you have good taste and watched them as children when your mind was a sponge and you absorbed every word forever, will you understand. So guess.) Because let’s face it, with all the gerrymandering that goes on, your vote doesn’t count anymore unless you live within the proximity of a hundred thousand other people who vote the same way as you. That is to say,our country is divided into red and blue states, and we only get a handful of people to represent us. 75% (random percentages will be used) of the issues they are elected on, I don’t agree with their ideas. So even when I do vote for a candidate, it’s usually not someone I would choose to represent me.
So here is my vote. Because I’m sick of statistics that are saying my way of thinking is practically non existent. I am not a unicorn!! My beliefs are not unique, but if you believe the statistics, I am completely alone. Also I am a firm believer that there are “three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.” I will be silent no more.
Disclaimer: I’m not going to say what you think I should say. The fact is I have beliefs and thoughts that are a combination of my own rational thought, what others have told me is truth, and life experience. I am not good at explaining my own rationale, I’m only in my late twenties, and I am a Catholic.
Based on that information, will I be right 100% of the time? Nope. When I am right, will you agree with me 100% of the time? Again no. Most of our beliefs are made up of the truth we experience in life, or the truth we have been taught by others. Also the phrase “taught by others” does not disqualify it as a truth.
If you don’t believe that truth exists, or believe that everyone has “their own personal truth” that oddly enough conflicts with a lot of other truths, then you’re contradicting yourself and you’re standing in quicksand. You either believe in truth or you don’t have any beliefs. Which would mean you stand on nothing, and are basically a marshmallow. Every daily decision you make is based on you deciding one thing is better than another for reasons that you perceive to be true. So even if you’re wrong or I’m wrong, we make decisions based on the idea that there is truth. Also, you cannot sit there and cry, “False!” to the above statements without also believing there is a “True.” Confused? I don’t really care. Keep up!
If you do believe in truth, you might find what you posit as true, is different from what I posit as true, and the two cannot live in the same world. You want to have a discussion about that? You can. However here is my challenge to you: don’t do it here. Do it in your living room with family, at your bar that you frequent, or in a one on one conversation with a friend. Because again the internet doesn’t change hearts, conversations among people do.
While the internet is a great facilitator of communication it will never be able to take the place of face to face communication. One time my sister was in Rome for a semester. We tried skyping one day. 90% of our conversation was making faces at each other. What am I getting at? We are 3 dimensional people, words on a page only communicate so little of what a person thinks, feels and who they actually are. Have real conversations face to face.
So in a world where the idiot voices seem to drown out rational people, where newscasters can’t seem to engage people in a logical conversation without shouting matches, I’m going to cast my vote. No one may listen and I don’t really care, but I cannot stay silent, lest the stones start crying out.
Finally I share my thoughts not because I am wise, but because I have many wise people in my life. Most of my thoughts are not original. They are a conglomeration of the advice and wisdom of many wonderful, smarter, holier people who have influenced my life. I am blessed and its time I stop hiding that light under a bushel basket.
Truth be told. 