Hi guys. This is where I confess to feeling extremely idiotic for some months now, and hope someone out there can say, ‘Hey! That was me, too!’, but if not, that’s okay. 😉
Like many folks, I recently discovered my passion for politics. Or, more accurately, my passion for seeing this country keep from going to total shit. That was about a year and a half ago – or so – and I’ve been on a tare ever since. Finding information. Learning things I do not know. Educating myself. But, when I first found political sites and blogs (like Kos), they scared me half to death.
Why? Well, because I felt like I had nothing to say or add. I loved reading the diaries, the stories, the commentary, all of it – but felt I couldn’t contribute. All those folks at Kos were so smart, so educated, so knowing, so self-aware…it was extremely intimidating, and still is. I feel like I cannot measure up to what those folks know. I’m not near as politically active. I don’t have a lot of time in my personal life to get out there and pound the pavement and ‘do my part’. I just care, that’s all. I just think Bush is a complete tool, like they all do. I want to know if there is anything at all I can do to help change things. I’ve learned a lot. A LOT. More than I can ever say – and mostly because of those fine folks at Kos (and those here, as well – who I first read at Kos) and what they know.
Having said all that, I rarely post – there or any other political site I visit. That intimidation thing again. The fear of being called an asshat idiot. Occasionally, I’ll post something – but mostly in comments, and it’s usually pretty inane. So, I got to feeling like there wasn’t much point for me to hang around, because I felt like the country cousin. But, I did, dammit. I’m still hanging around, still learning. I just ain’t talking. 😉
But, I found this place – and the smaller, more intimate feel (not to mention the superb Deadwood thread on the front page) makes me so much more comfortable. I can speak out a little more and not feel like there are untold hordes of people reading my little rants and whatnot and thinking I’m a complete dweeb.
Although you may still indeed think that, please don’t shatter my newfound confidence, ‘kay?
Anyway, the point to all this mindless rambling is: did you feel this way when you ventured into the ‘political world’? Was it hard to dip your feet in the water? Is it still? Do you also sometimes feel that you don’t know near as much as you should and admire those that you think do? What have you learned that you didn’t know before visiting political sites?
I guess I just figure that if I felt this way, there are others that did/do too, and maybe it’d make some of us feel better if we know we’re not alone.
Okay, enough from me for now. Thanks for a nice new home to visit, Booman and company.