Bleg/Open Thread
I got nuthin’ right now – any suggestions on something you’d all like me to write about?
Mark of New Jersey
Mark is a Founding Editor of The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, the predecessor of Ordinary Times.
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Let’s talk about immigration. I’d like to hear some libertarians weigh in on the cultural assimilation arguments.Report
@Will, That’s probably a good suggestion. I’ve been batting around a response on that, actually, but I want to do more research for it than I have time at the moment.Report
This calls for pop culture.
Complain about a particular movie trope. Maybe pick out your three desert island discs. Discuss how television today is better than way back when and compare some of the best stuff from today to the best stuff from then. Or vice-versa. Or talk about how you recently re-watched something like Citizen Kane or The Godfather and how it couldn’t get made again today. Or talk about how thrilled you are that we can finally make movies like Avatar.
The most important thing is to hit primarily on matters of taste but phrase things as if they were matters of morality.
I’ll back you up.Report
@Jaybird, Damn. This has me suddenly realizing what I’ve most sacrificed with parenthood: movies and music.Report
@Mark Thompson, write about parenthood.Report
@Mark Thompson, seriously, one thing that I’d love to read (and similarly from Jason, and E.D., and Scott, and *ANYBODY* for that matter) is how parenthood has impacted any political viewpoint you may have had.
Like, “I always supported policy X, until I had kids, at which point I realized that policy X had *WAY* too many tradeoffs and now I support policy Y.”
I got the operation when I was 25, you see. I don’t have kids. Part of me wonders such things like “would a kid push me back towards theism?” or “would a kid push me towards social conservativism as conventionally understood?” and, well, I’m never going to have those questions answered satisfactorily.
So I’m wondering if you (you all) have answers to such questions.Report
@Jaybird, That’s a good suggestion. Oddly enough, for me, I think it’s mostly reinforced a lot of my political beliefs, though it’s probably also accelerated my evolution on social safety nets.Report
@Jaybird,
Being a parent has made me want to blog less about parenting, not more.
In part it’s because I am very new at parenting and do not yet feel I know enough of the experience of it. I was full of opinions before, and now I’m less confident.
In part it’s also a desire to shield my daughter from the increasingly public life I’m living, one whose downsides I’m keenly aware of. I know perfectly well that there are those who would say very hurtful things about her if I were to publicize her too well. She has my partner’s last name, you know, and I think it’s probably for the best. The last thing I want to do is go trotting her out as an example all the time — her life is hers. She isn’t a prop.Report
@Jason Kuznicki, oh, indeed. I certainly wouldn’t want people to blog about their children.
Keep that part *PRIVATE*.
But I am interested in the whole “before I was a parent, I thought P. Now I think Q and here’s why…” topic. Would such an essay require discussion of child particulars?
Perhaps it would.
(This goes back to the whole “I don’t have kids” thing, so I don’t know.)Report
@Jaybird,
I’ve got one more bit to add, though not in the direction you’ve asked. Just because you’ve had that operation, don’t imagine that you can’t become a parent anyway. There is always adoption.Report
@Jaybird, that’s an interesting question that I’d have to think more of for myself, but parenthood has helped to push my wife a little more towards the libertarian-ish camp. Especially in regards to school choice.Report
You could write “The Most ____ Music Videos of All Time”.
No, I’m kidding- don’t do that!Report
You’re joking… right? Hows about the piece on the Fourteenth you’ve promised a couple of times?Report
@Cascadian, Heh. I know, I know. Sadly, I’ve probably tried to write the piece about five times, but each time I wind up giving up as it turns into a disorganized piece of garbage. There’s so many different directions to go with it, but to make the post coherent, I find that I almost need to take it in all directions. This makes it better suited for at least a small book than for a blog post.
That said, I’ve been meaning to send you an e-mail to see if you’d be interested in trying some sort of dialogue on the subject, which would probably allow me to be a bit more focused.Report
@Mark Thompson, I’d love that. Even, an open thread on the subject with a few of the directions posted for discussion could be fun.Report
@Cascadian, That’s an idea as well. Here’s a thought, along those lines: why don’t you write a post outlining your theories and/or questions as a way of getting the ball rolling. The post can be as long or as short as you wish, even if it’s just a paragraph or two. Just something to get the ball rolling since my thoughts are so unfocused.Report
@Mark Thompson, Sounds good.Report
I could actually take less-parenthood-makes-me-different/normal/special/happy/important/tired/smarter/more reactionary/what have you blogging at this site, not that there’s been that much, or that I don’t understand the reaction to empirical studies that show it makes people lees happy. It’s not a big issue and I don’t really mind one way or the other, but it is a pretty tired genre in my opinion.Report
I would like to read more about the Tea Party. I know, I know…
But in particular, how this effects the general perception of libertarians and the future of libertarianism in general.
I’ll reserve my opinions on the matter for that discussion.Report