Thanks for visiting! But you know what I’d really like to talk about?
The day I wrote this about the G20 was the single busiest day in my humble little blog’s history. More people visited my site that day than on any previous day, and the average day since has put the typical day before that post to shame.
Since then, there have been two other days that scored in the same range. The first was Thursday, when I wrote about the G20 again, and today became the second shortly after I posted this.
A lot of today’s attention in particular is due to people like Jonathan Goldsbie, Justin Stayshyn and Antonia Zerbisias, who were among the people kind enough to share a link to the post in question. Goldsbie even made me blush a little by introducing me as a “blogger and democracy activist.” The former may be true in a technical sense, but the latter is just plain generous.
He also said “I’ll let you connect the dots yourselves.” And if you’ve already done that, or you’ve had it done for you, then I’m sure you can understand why my posts about the G20 and various other issues have been… Well, I suppose “measured” is a good word. But of course, that’s just a small part of it.
I’m not saying I’ve been holding back, or censoring myself or anything like that. For better or worse, what you’re reading on this site is my honest and hopefully informed opinion. But there’s a difference between tearing one of yesterday’s celebrities a new asshole, for example, and discussing a genuinely important issue. The latter warrants a little open-mindedness and tact – not just in the case of someone like me, but for anyone writing in a public forum who would rather make a point than start a flame war.
Beyond that, I’m no more informed than anyone else, and there’s no valid reason why my opinion should carry any extra weight. I mean, I have my own biases and frames of reference, but so do we all. Frankly, if I can express an idea or score a cheap laugh, without saying anything too stupid or winding up in the paper, then that’s usually a pretty good day around here.
That said, the G20 is an event worth talking about. It was an important chapter in our city’s history, and one that we were essentially forced to endure. It would be fickle to call it a learning experience, and it would be insulting of me to tell you what you ought to be taking away from it. But I’m grateful and glad that so many people seem to care what I’ve taken away from it, whatever their reasons may be.
The way I’d like to go from here, assuming you’d like you come along, is to delve deeper into the issue of democracy. Not because I’ve let Goldsbie’s kindness go to my head, although there’s a lot to be said for trying to earn that title. To be honest, it’s something I’ve been thinking about using this space to explore for a while now, and there’s really no time like the present. Hell, if I can dedicate time every week to records and music videos, I’m sure I can make time for something like this.
In the meantime, thanks for visiting! I really do appreciate it. Do stay tuned, and feel free to share your own thoughts.
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