Dispatches from the Culture Wars Thoughts from the interface of religion, science, law and culture

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Tuesday, September 17, 2002 This is my first attempt at keeping a blog, which begs the obvious question: uh, why? It's a good question with, sadly, few good answers. Arrogance, perhaps, in thinking that other people might be interested in something I have to say; a desire to express myself, tempered however slightly by the recognition that few people with such a desire have anything worthwhile to express; self-absorption a more likely answer, especially lately. There is a bit of egotism in anyone who ventures to put his thoughts on display for others. HL Mencken, in my opinion the finest essayist of the 20th century, said that the motive of anyone inclined to do so is "no more and no less than the simple desire to function freely and beautifully, to give outward and objective form to ideas that bubble inwardly and have a fascinating lure in them, to get rid of them dramatically and make an articulate noise in the world." In less pretentious terms, perhaps it will give me a place to bitch and whine and complain and attack, and occasionally even to share joy. I've often found that writing out my thoughts on a situation helps me to understand the situation better, gives me an opportunity to hold them at a distance and examine them a bit more objectively. I'm a bit nervous about how exactly to go about this, since it will likely be seen by at least a few of the people I may refer to (never by name, of course). I guess I'll work that out as I go along. Stay tuned. Ed Brayton | 8:36 PM | | | Permalink

Dispatches from the Culture Wars