HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
Following the debt ceiling "negotiations" of 2011, I became convinced that our representatives in Congress had become incapable of putting the well being of our country above party politics. The resulting S&P downgrade of our nation's credit rating may or may not have been warranted, but the Chinese government's "invitation" for Vice-President Biden to visit China, following the interim agreement, was a wake-up call. How had our fiscal affairs become so shaky as to require a trip by our Vice-President to reassure the Chinese of our credit worthiness? Having long been somewhat apathetic about politics, and generally content to vote for the lesser of two evils, I decided that was no longer possible. I had to do something.
Out of frustration, I began by writing a letter to the editor of my local newspaper. If you read the letter, please keep in mind that the editor assigned the title. I then learned there was a comments section, on the newspaper's web site, and was immediately immersed in the divisive rancor associated with such forums. Initially, I joined the fray to defend my position, but I soon learned that I had no place in the "debate". In fact, there was very little debate. There were mainly two sides, one pitted against the other, spouting familiar accusations with some name calling and insults thrown in.
The people on this site were representative of the extreme left and right (it seems most people on both sides are pretty extreme these days). Someone in the middle had no place there, but I decided to conduct an experiment to see if we could find some common ground. I may have been more than a little naïve, but we did manage to find one issue that, when discussed, did not end in hostility (Does anyone really think turning corn into Ethanol is a good idea?).
I did not make a lot more progress after that. Because the participants were able to maintain anonymity, there was no reason to exercise self-control. The newspaper finally shut down the site and replaced it with one tied to Facebook. I continued my commentary on this site, but one of the former commenters set up an alternate web site and most of the others followed. After being quiet, for some time, we now have participants willing to state their views along with their identities.
I have no party affiliation. I lean to the left, but know that the right has to be included in resolving this country's most pressing problems. I believe our government functions best when both parties are willing to compromise. Very few of us expect to get everything we might want in this life. Shouldn't elected representatives, acting on our behalf, reflect that reality?
In October 2011 I wrote a manifesto over the course of 3-4 days. It is a summary of what I believe ails this country and some ideas of how we may cure it. I sent the manifesto to a few individuals and began publishing excerpts on my Facebook wall. A short time later I came up with a new title, and "Occupy Congressional e-Mail Servers" was born.
Out of frustration, I began by writing a letter to the editor of my local newspaper. If you read the letter, please keep in mind that the editor assigned the title. I then learned there was a comments section, on the newspaper's web site, and was immediately immersed in the divisive rancor associated with such forums. Initially, I joined the fray to defend my position, but I soon learned that I had no place in the "debate". In fact, there was very little debate. There were mainly two sides, one pitted against the other, spouting familiar accusations with some name calling and insults thrown in.
The people on this site were representative of the extreme left and right (it seems most people on both sides are pretty extreme these days). Someone in the middle had no place there, but I decided to conduct an experiment to see if we could find some common ground. I may have been more than a little naïve, but we did manage to find one issue that, when discussed, did not end in hostility (Does anyone really think turning corn into Ethanol is a good idea?).
I did not make a lot more progress after that. Because the participants were able to maintain anonymity, there was no reason to exercise self-control. The newspaper finally shut down the site and replaced it with one tied to Facebook. I continued my commentary on this site, but one of the former commenters set up an alternate web site and most of the others followed. After being quiet, for some time, we now have participants willing to state their views along with their identities.
I have no party affiliation. I lean to the left, but know that the right has to be included in resolving this country's most pressing problems. I believe our government functions best when both parties are willing to compromise. Very few of us expect to get everything we might want in this life. Shouldn't elected representatives, acting on our behalf, reflect that reality?
In October 2011 I wrote a manifesto over the course of 3-4 days. It is a summary of what I believe ails this country and some ideas of how we may cure it. I sent the manifesto to a few individuals and began publishing excerpts on my Facebook wall. A short time later I came up with a new title, and "Occupy Congressional e-Mail Servers" was born.