Posted by
slacker on Friday, October 20, 2006 11:03:38 AM
I will use this initial post to introduce myself and the purpose of my blog. I find myself taking a lliberal position on many issues but I always think critically. I have been annoyed and amused by the cartoonish views promulgated about liberals on radio talk shows and elsewhere on this site. By that I mean statements that attribute motives like "hating America" or wanting to take freedom away from Americans or somehow supporting terrorists. Or that when you ask a liberal a question they will never answer it, just repeat inane and mindless slogans from some playbook. That's not the case with me. If you ask me a question, and I understand it, I will answer it honestly and as clearly as I possibly can without trying to insult you.. Then I want to hear why you disagree with me and we can discuss it. If I don't understand your question I will tell you and ask you to clarify it.
I am not going to point out specific individuals who have said such negative things about liberals in this post. I will save that for individual posts on specific topics. But I decided after posting for a while on columnists articles on this site that I often if not usually agree with liberal positions and have clear reasons why I do. I want to put my opinions up for all to see and for anyone who wishes to engage with me to have a chance to discuss my positions with me. You see, I realize they are opinions and not carved in stone. I believe that it is only by being clear and open about what we believe and then listening and interacting with people who disagree with us that we learn and grow.
We will see how it goes. Maybe no one will see my blog. Or no one will respond. If that happens, so be it and I will abandon it.
Someone elsewhere asked me why I post on a "conservative" board when I am so liberal. It is because if I wanted to hear a lot of people saying "mega dittos, right on brother" to everything I say I would limit myself to Huffington Post, kos or whatever. I think the kind of open discussion I am looking for is entirely in the spirit of Townhall, no matter how liberal I am.
I will start with two posts. One on the war in Iraq, which describes my current view of the mess that George Bush and Rumsfeld have created.
The other is on the topic of abortion where I have enjoyed a long running discussion over a columnists article suggesting "liberals channel lucifer". A word of caution to other liberals. My view on abortion is my own and I think many liberals will disagree with it. Perhaps that makes me a moderate, not a liberal. If it offends you avert your eyes. However I think it is part of my point. Liberals are not some monolithic organization that promotes a single agenda.
For full disclosure let me say this up front, too. If the post on Iraq looks identical to something you saw posted an another blog, it is true. I started a previous blog named "slackerscorner" a week or so ago. The post appeared there. I am starting a second blog for two reasons. The first and most important is that I lost my password and for some reason, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get Townhall to reset it and send me a new one. So I could not get back to my own forum.
The second reason is I injected a little sarcasm as an attempt at humor and some people pointed out to me this detracted from my message and purpose. I thought about it and I agree with them, so I thought I would try again. Its not often you get a second chance, but I will take it since Townhall allowed me to create another account with same screen name but using a different email address.