The blank page
When there were no computers, artists and writers occasionally shared a similar problem, facing a blank paper and having to begin creating. It can be difficult to make "the first mark"... to make a beginning. Over the years, I've learned to conquer such blocks, but there are times when I face a more serious block - not being able to choose subject matter.
I wish I could tell you that at those moments nothing inspires or disturbs me enough to make me write. Were that true, I would be content to leave well enough alone. Sadly, there are two conditions that give me pause, leaving my hands stranded quietly on the keyboard:
The first condition is that there are so many subjects crying for comment that I can't choose. With American politics straying ever further from our ideals, and hastening toward a brutish empire of willing serfs, I have to go no further than the daily news for issues that demand comment.
The second condition is concern that I will have readers who don't already understand the comments I might make. Unlike many writers, I have little interest in "preaching to the choir". It provides little value for the choir or the preacher. It may make both feel good... rephrasing what we all knew to be true, and the preacher may become well thought of as having really "nailed" the opposition, but if there is nothing to be learned, no new information to be communicated, then it seems hardly worth the effort in either writing or reading.
When I wrote My gulag and welcome to it in response to the Supreme Court Kelo decision, I had no idea how many other writers would join in. I had already written 8 previous articles concerning eminent domain... articles that had stood rather alone. Eminent domain is an issue that affects only a few people at a time, and so is easy to ignore. Suddenly though, the Supreme Court seemed to put its blessing on such takings, and that finally caught the attention of the general public. I don't recall another subject (save the War in Iraq) that has caused such universal outrage and elicited so many critical articles.
It will be interesting to see how long the outrage and attention lasts. I've had great difficulty in rousing others to that issue. It's just too easy to divert ones eyes and pretend that it will never affect you directly.
Is eminent domain abuse the most important political problem we face? It isn't, but it is one that can be stopped with relatively little effort and expense, by individuals participating in the workings of their own local government. It doesn't require mass protests such as those opposing a war. It doesn't require lobbying legislators, nor does it require much money. All that is required is attending your local city council meetings and speaking up when developments are being pushed at the expense of your neighbors. It is relatively simple, if boring, work... truth is, it is only the diligence we must exercise as free citizens.
Do you know what your city council is doing?
I wish I could tell you that at those moments nothing inspires or disturbs me enough to make me write. Were that true, I would be content to leave well enough alone. Sadly, there are two conditions that give me pause, leaving my hands stranded quietly on the keyboard:
The first condition is that there are so many subjects crying for comment that I can't choose. With American politics straying ever further from our ideals, and hastening toward a brutish empire of willing serfs, I have to go no further than the daily news for issues that demand comment.
The second condition is concern that I will have readers who don't already understand the comments I might make. Unlike many writers, I have little interest in "preaching to the choir". It provides little value for the choir or the preacher. It may make both feel good... rephrasing what we all knew to be true, and the preacher may become well thought of as having really "nailed" the opposition, but if there is nothing to be learned, no new information to be communicated, then it seems hardly worth the effort in either writing or reading.
When I wrote My gulag and welcome to it in response to the Supreme Court Kelo decision, I had no idea how many other writers would join in. I had already written 8 previous articles concerning eminent domain... articles that had stood rather alone. Eminent domain is an issue that affects only a few people at a time, and so is easy to ignore. Suddenly though, the Supreme Court seemed to put its blessing on such takings, and that finally caught the attention of the general public. I don't recall another subject (save the War in Iraq) that has caused such universal outrage and elicited so many critical articles.
It will be interesting to see how long the outrage and attention lasts. I've had great difficulty in rousing others to that issue. It's just too easy to divert ones eyes and pretend that it will never affect you directly.
Is eminent domain abuse the most important political problem we face? It isn't, but it is one that can be stopped with relatively little effort and expense, by individuals participating in the workings of their own local government. It doesn't require mass protests such as those opposing a war. It doesn't require lobbying legislators, nor does it require much money. All that is required is attending your local city council meetings and speaking up when developments are being pushed at the expense of your neighbors. It is relatively simple, if boring, work... truth is, it is only the diligence we must exercise as free citizens.
Do you know what your city council is doing?
posted by Robert Ronald Smith at 1:22 PM
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