An Introduction

Truth be told I wrote this introduction on January 24^th 2009.  Why wait so long to finally publish it you ask?  I have always had a desire to run for public office.  My sister Heather, for whom I have great respect, read this introduction and another essay I had written on religion and cautioned me against publishing them.  She reminded me that anything I published in a blog would be on the internet forever.  She also pointed out that the media was famous for paraphrasing and taking snippets of material out of context as would any future, (someday if I ever got off my butt), opponent in an election.  Finally she pointed out that some of my views would not find favor with some percentage of voters and this would outweigh all of the positive views that I have.  This was also a veiled compliment as I am the staunch conservative counter to my own darling Hollywood elite screaming liberal.  I may have exaggerated that last part just a bit.

All Heathers points were very good ones so I slept on it, for three and a half years.  Below is my blogs introduction.  Love you Heather.

I have asked myself why anyone would, once having decided to put his thoughts to media, place them into this relatively new format referred to as a Blog. Here I am having just completed my very first sentence and already I am having difficulty. Note the word media. As I composed that sentence I was thinking putting pen to paper, a journal, chronicling my life and opinions, all terms to me that portray warmth.  Media is cold, calculating, electronic and sterile. Is this a statement of fact or the vestiges of outdated opinion as expressed by a forty five year old member of a bridge generation?

William Cobbett (1763-1835) famously stated that "Tyranny has no enemy so formidable as the pen". Shall we now assign the same credence to the keyboard, or admit in fact that the keyboard may be even mightier than the pen ever aspired to be. I find typing much easier and faster than writing in longhand hence my predisposition to begin to stray from my original thoughts and move off on a tangent. You might say I have writers ADD. That being said, allow me to return to the proposition with which I opened this paragraph which is why post my personal thoughts for the world to see. To understand the answer to that I think it is necessary to understand in a clearer fashion just who I am and for that you will have to continue to read my essays, i.e. Blogs.

Just for the record I understand that everything that I write in this format is here for the world to see. That does not mean that I am relinquishing ownership over this collection of words only that I accept responsibility for any repercussions that may arise as a result of them. I am no William Cobbett, or Thomas Paine. Nor do I dare put myself anywhere near the category or caliber of the men I strongly admire, not necessarily pamphleteers like Cobbett or Paine, but men like Adams, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Regan. Despite this self imposed limitation I do feel the draw of public service. At some point in time I will succumb and run for public office. I strongly believe that no individual has the right to voice dissent unless they willing to back their words with corrective actions. For me personally, accounting for this point in history, the appropriate arena for action is within the halls of Government.

So I have admitted a desire for public office. I feel the hallmark of one who will lead is truth, something that is markedly lacking in 21st century politics, and has been for some time. Truth as I see it, or express it, may result in new friends or new enemies but the requirement for its disclosure is no less captious. So in the essays that will follow over time you will see my true opinion, and it likely be able to discern my true position which I will make it as clear as I am able. Be mindful that putting my thoughts and opinions into prose does not guarantee that I will never change my mind. My detractors, if I have any now or in the future, will surely say AHHH here he sets the ground for retraction or mmmm Flip Flopping? No, I set the ground work for being human. I love a good debate and I have been known to change my mind so bring it on.

Many of these essays will just be stories but ones I feel represent who I am and how I live. This is also an effort to put down my thoughts, to allow me to contemplate my own words and actions and the results they have garnered both intentionally and unintentionally. I hope this collection will become an adequate summary of my life for my Children, and God willing Grandchildren to see someday. You may find humor here, you may find pain, you will always find honesty, no exaggeration, as plain as I can make it. To my friends and family; my intent is authentic and unadulterated and I apologize for any inadvertent embarrassment, or God forbid pain, my words may cause you. I hope you find the reading of this as enjoyable as I find the writing and in the words you find something new in me that will strengthen our relationship.