Why are we always walking alone?
My Takes on the Middle Ground
Oh boy, another blog
The world doesn't need more blogs. I know that.
The only thing we need less than blogs is podcasts, and that is only because bloggers are a tiny bit less likely to call themselves bloggers. I don't even tell my friends and family that I do this (they discover at their own risk!)
Mid-thirties, it seems, is when you start to realize that you are getting old. It's when you start to realize that when your parents and elders told you "It isn't fun" that they weren't just blowing smoke. Your body doesn't work as well, you are tired all the time, and you are inundated with responsibilities.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that I'll feel much older in my forties. That, they tell me, is when it really starts to kick in. Or maybe the fifties. If you think your body isn't responding as well now, just you wait...
But another thing that definitely seemed to happen while I entered my mid-thirties was that my faith in the idea that things will just turn out alright started to fade away. When you are younger it is easier to live in your own selfish bubble of: "What will I become? Where will I go? What will I do?" As you get older, you realize that most likely you will just do what you have already been doing.
Don't get me wrong, I like what I do. I'm a software developer, author, and most importantly father and husband. My daughter is the light of my life and I love taking her places and watching her experience everything for the first time.
For me, that is working, watching television, and spending time with my daughter. In general, those things are perfect for me, but on the grander scale it becomes harder to push and try new things. I like what I like, and I don't really feel an intense need to step outside those boundaries.
It gets worse than just getting old.
The other thing that seems to happen is that you start to lose touch with the norms of society. I know very little about the new generations of kids or what they will become, and as a child of nineties and early two-thousands I often feel like a fish out of water.
It's easy to fall into the trap most older people seem to fall into where you start sentences with: "kids these days..."
Kids are the same as they have always been. Sure, they have more toys to play with, but they haven't really changed.
Parents have changed in some ways. I think parents (myself included) can have a tendency to take a back seat to devices and let their kids spend way too much time with screens.
BUT...
BUT...
A BIG BUTT...
Parents were shitty back in the day too. My parents were great (and shitty) and their parents were great (and shitty) and the idea that "we didn't have screens to park our kids in front of so we spent more time with them" is definitely bull.
So nowadays parents are completely different, but also the same. They are great, and shitty.
But, it isn't just parents. It's culture and society, too.
I barely remember a time where social media didn't dominate public discourse. No one gave a shit what Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos thought or did, and we were less likely to turn ourselves into lifestyle bloggers for everyone to worship.
Our world is divided in ways that I had only really read about as a kid. Sure, it might have been just as contentious back then, but it wasn't nearly as loud and outspoken about things. Social media really upended everything I thought I knew growing up.
It's hard to have conversations with anyone anymore because as loud as we are in our opinions, we are twice as guarded in protecting them. We live in our echo chambers, unwilling to step outside and hear the other side's thoughts on any matter. Deviate from your echo chamber's thoughts and opinions and you will be instantly ostracized.
So, the blog then, right?
That's why I wanted to create a blog, because to me this feels utterly wrongheaded to keep dividing ourselves so much. Even when speaking with my own father, he has a hard time of understanding that the intolerance he sees in his perceived "enemies" is no different than the intolerance he shows them.
How am I supposed to teach my daughter to love and accept everyone when the people who normally promoted love and acceptance are now just as intolerant?
It's a hate crime to misgender someone?
You are a bigot if you don't support Palestine?
You are a Nazi if you don't support Israel?
All of this is confusing, and the entire world is full of armchair detectives and off-the-cuff quarterbacks spitting their opinions at everyone.
Well, hold my iced coffee and I'll jump into that fray.
I cannot stress enough that I know my opinions don't matter, but I also can't stress enough that I'm sick and tired of just sitting back and listening to other people shout in their echo chambers. We need to start having disagreements and conversations again instead of just trying to make and prove a point. I don't have points to make, just sthoughts to share.
I don't want to continue walking down paths of hatred and dismissiveness. I would rather take the middle ground.
Or, at least, I would like to try.
Let's meet in the middle
Are you convinced? Honestly, I'm not sure I would be convinced. There are millions of blogs out there, so what would make mine different? It isn't better, that's for sure. For me, it's the fact that I am making it. I love to consume content, but I feel like it becomes more of a struggle to have a conversation.
I can't count how many times I have watched a YouTube video or read an article and just wanted to scream "That's not right" or "You are close, but you're missing the forest for the trees."
This is my place to engage.
I would love for you to engage with me as well. There is a contact page and comments that you can leave as long as you are a member.
And, becoming a member would be amazing! I appreciate everyone who supports me.
I want to give my takes, as misguided and unprofessional as they are, about all kinds of topics. YouTubers I enjoy watching, music I like listening to, political events and historical things I find fascinating. I want to set up my own little corner of the internet where I can have my side of the conversation actually mean something, even if it means nothing at all.
Want to go on the journey with me? Signup and let's get rolling!
Last quick note:
I actually have three different sites, and that is because they cover completely different parts of my life.
This one is for me to discuss random thoughts and opinions and various topics.
I also have this site to share my books, stories, and alexa skills as well as new fiction I am working on.
And, lastly, I have this site to share my experiences as a coder and blog writer with the world. That kind of stuff is much more technical and doesn't fit on these blogs.
Those places are worth checking out, too! Subscribe over there and over here and make sure to stay in touch!
