day one

I’ve been toying with the idea of a blog for some time now. With all the time I’ve been spending on the computer digging through websites trying to keep a tenuous grip on what’s happening out in the world, and since I believe a well informed public (voters) is essential for effective government here in the USA., I’ve talked myself into kicking off this blog experiment. Hopefully I can contribute something useful.

For many years I tried to keep my ideas and opinions to myself, believing most people to be uninterested (why bother) or at least as (or more) observant, intelligent and educated as I am (they've already reached the same conclusion or had the same observation, so again, why bother). Usually if I voice an idea someone looks at me with utter disbelief and proceeds to tell me I’m crazy.

Today’s random thought:
We the People, in order to accomplish anything, must know something about it.

Today’s reality check:
It seems the media no longer reports just the facts (if they ever did), letting the reader draw conclusions or form opinions. We’re now being spoon-fed opinions by the media and expected to swallow them whole. Since I don’t trust big business (the media) to be completely impartial I’ve got to sift through a lot of information to find the cold hard facts.

Today’s rant:
Research takes time and effort but it’s got to be done. As a US citizen I have the right to vote and I have the right to be heard. Everyone knows and talks about our rights. We seem to overlook the fact that we have RESPONSIBILITIES as well. We have the responsibility to make informed choices on our ballot. We have the responsibility to be heard. We have the responsibility to monitor our elected officials and we have the responsibility to fix things that are broken.


Anyway... on this little search for truth, justice, etc. I ran across a few blogs that have been helpful along the way (links to some on the sidebar). Often when browsing these sites I find myself reading things I’ve previously only heard in my own head (sounds a lot better when they write it than when I think it though). I see people voicing ideas and opinions and inviting others to do so in an open forum environment while conducting themselves with class, honor and dignity (a standard I hope to achieve one day).