Revelations (Part 7)

The first time I took an electric saw to my Christmas tree.
It made removing it so much easier.
There is an analogy here. Possibly several.
But I am not ready to think about it.   

First resolution of the new year? Stop blogging on a bloated stomach. In fact, quit eating so much at one time--it is just another form of procrastination, and my middle-aged body has begun protesting against this habit. Drafting these posts a week in advance would help, too. Otherwise, you, dear reader, end up with posts like tonight's: short, rushed, disjointed, and unedited.

Short is better than long, I guess. Rushed is par the course here. Disjointed? That accurately reflects the state of my mind on most days. As for unedited, that will not change until I stop procrastinating.

What I want to change, immediately. is this blog's content. 

The Friday before Christmas, my wife and I hosted our closest neighbors. At some point, one of them and I entered a political conversation. Let me preface this with a true statement: I have never walked away from heated discussions, even those that have devolved into shouting matches, without learning something, about myself, the other person, and the topic at hand. Whenever someone challenges my knowledge and beliefs, I spend time afterwards reflecting on it all. Some times, I change my mind. Other times, I strengthen my beliefs, but with caveats. Most of the time, I learn new ideas and perspectives. At all times, I am reminded that reality is truly complex. It defies simple explanations.

Well, that night, my neighbor and I exchanged words about politics (somehow we avoided sex and religion, one of my two favorites). Our voices rose and fell, and, at one point, everyone left the room. His wife, in the adjoining space, occasionally stopped everyone to check in and make sure her husband was not losing it. But we never yelled at each other, or called one another stupid. It became clear, from the start, I was engaged with someone whose sources did not match my own. We should have stopped, however, it felt good to talk with someone with whom I disagreed. You see, I am "the kid who wants to know everything about everything." And that requires uncomfortable conversations.

That night, I was fortunate. My neighbor was someone who also wanted to listen to other people. So, the political discussion never devolved into anything ugly. It also helped that another neighbor's son, a recent high school graduate and who happens to be mathematically brilliant, at one point walked into the kitchen (that is where you will find me during parties). He shifted the conversation to artificial intelligence (after revealing his own thoughts about the Republican Party). Everything came to end around midnight.

As I have mentioned before, I always walk away from these conversations changed, in some way.  That night, I came away inspired. In the past, while famous scientists, social thinkers, and historians have affected my intellectual journey, regular, everyday people, like journalists, history professors, and bloggers with less than a thousand followers, had a greater impact on my thoughts. While some in the second group were experts in their fields, many were average thinkers like me, muddling through the complexities of reality.

I want to follow in their footsteps, and begin to post more intellectual content. Perhaps even videos. I have learned a lot in my forty-five years of life. Maybe what I share will inspire others to rethink their own knowledge and beliefs. It will also challenge me to reflect more carefully on my own opinions.

Yes, I made this claim on this blog before. Why is this time different? I do not know. But this time, I feel another opportunity has opened up. I want to grab it, and run with it.

Stayed tuned...