WHAT THIS BLOG IS

My original intention as I start this blog is to comment primarily on matters of the meaning of life, religion, social issues, and politics at the national or world level, leavened with alleged humor now and then.

For several years I have been sending emails to a listserv of my local church-like entity, known as FUSN (First Unitarian Society in Newton). Several people from this FUSN list have suggested I should write for a broader audience. By nature I am ambivalent about writing even for the FUSN list, and I am more reluctant about exposing my thoughts to the world for just anyone to read.

Sometimes I have thoughts that I feel like sharing, and sometimes I write them up. But I am aware of problems with just about everything I write, and am also aware that there are likely to be problems that I am not aware of. Surely just about everything I say has already been said better by somebody else. On the other hand, most arguments are imperfect, and just because something has been said doesn't mean it has been widely understood. Saying unoriginal things in a new way might be helpful. I look forward to people's comments, some of which may help further clarify my own thinking.

We live in an age of information overload, glut, and data smog. I like to keep mine in check, and I don't like to contribute to other people's. But in this medium there is no scarcity of column inches to be allocated. No one has to read a second word here if they don't like the first.

I have started by including posts I wrote to the church listserv over the past several years. Anything posted before November 13, 2007 is in that category. Keep in mind that they were written to that audience. Posts written several years before they were posted include a prominent notice at the beginning giving the date they were originally posted.