The Native Iowan

Out of character for me, I know, but I want to have a bit of a rant. Ive been getting rather annoyed of late…

Folks tend to think reposting a meme or a picture or such is something that has weight, offers sense or clarification in an intellectual discussion.

I respect original thought, personal introspection and articulate discussion… Tell me about you, what you think, how you feel about any topic. I like to read. I prefer intelligent language and creative use of words. But I’ll settle for simple language. Im more interested in what you think than how you say it, though how you say it is important. My centrist position almost ensures I agree with very few, that I subscribe to no single school of thought, political ideal or sexual preference. I like debate, passionate debate, honest, open, real, and at times violent debate. Bring it on, lets play, work up a sweat dissecting and devouring and destroying ideas, ideals and more…

I fancy myself as a word-smith and encourage all and everyone to write, write, write.

These all but meaningless “cute” phrases, often with an equally cute but meaningless picture, simply can not impress me. It is not discussion and in many ways tells me that there is little knowledgable discussion available.

I discuss the idea that we live in echo chambers. Much of what we say, repeat, retweet, is nothing more than an echo of the chamber(s) we live in.

Here’s a good example… This is a picture I took during one of the many riots in Honiara. This one resulted in the burning of China Town (again). There is a lot happening herein, and we know, instinctively, that it’s not good, but we do not really have a clue of what, when, where, why, how. Its just a picture.

I’ll add a caption:

Zionist laughing while Gaza burns

Now let me change it a bit:

Palestinian laughing while burning kibbutz

Same picture, change the words and change the emotion.

I can carry on:

White Nationalist at lynching

And:

BLM street party

You get my drift… I dont need to belabour this point, though I could, but my point has been made…

All this tweet and retweet BS is 98% meaningless bullshit. I say 98% because I laugh at some. Some are indeed entertaining. And clever.

For my money I want to know what people think, not where they get their entertainment. I want thoughtful words and commentary on your personal view of the world, no matter what your view is. I am more interested in what you think to be offended or dismayed by what you have to say.

Most folks are terribly afraid of offending others, talking out of the accepted terms of reference, going against the grain. Ridicule can hurt. But if your thoughts, ideas and positions are not challenged… well hell, that int no fun.

One friend of mine went a number of years intentionally writing a FB post every day. She made a conscious effort to “have something to say” every single day for a long line of days. She later turned her posts into a book. I have one somewhere. I’ll Chase it down, but, belabouring my point, I enjoyed and looked forward to hearing what my friend had to say, everyday. It was a positive, no matter what she said.

And the beat do go on…

Big smiles

More later