(Updated)Sat April 9, 2005
“”I am adding this update as a response to questions raised by Sirocco where he thought I implied that world stories were worthless on this diary. Let me make it perfectly clear, I do think the world stories are extremely important and perhaps they deserve a special section themselves for easy referral to by members. I so often am not able to remember who wrote what and when and where to find it. But my main point was should we be trying to find ways to take action on these issues. I hope that this makes it a little clearer. I personally have written much about Iraq and the difficulties there, not just from an American perspective, but a world and a personal perspective.
Everyday when I sign on to DK or Booman I am struck by the number of worldwide stories, that outline the horrendous goings on in country after country, from Zimbabwe to Iraq, Us, South America, etc.
I am wondering what is the point of all of these stories constantly brought to our attention. How can we possibly take a viable interest in every one of these issues and if we do what can be done about them?
Sure I agree we should be interested in the whole world, but is that diffusing the problems we have in this country and our ability to take effective action (another question in itself).
What is the purpose of this forum and others like DK, just to endlessly discuss every issue, and then do nothing, take no action, just to know about it and discuss it to death.
I am concerned that we are wasting away the time when perhaps we could be actually doing something, become a force of change.
I am not saying I have the answers, but I am asking the question and perhaps we could discuss our purpose, if we have one, or if we don’t, should we?
I see a parade of subjects come up every day on the recent diary list, and very few comments are made. The problem for me and why I do not comment on a lot of these diaries is that I simply have nothing to say. What comment is meaningful to add to news stories and other such articles. On DK a news item is met with a long list of wows, too bad, this is terrible, etc. ad infinitum. Not so bad on this site, where much more substantive comments are the rule and not the exception.
Occasionally one of the topics catches fire and we discuss (or argue) it for days and in the end, what have we done, nothing.
What purpose is this serving except to take up a lot of time for a lot of people that is not doing one damn thing to change anything, just over informing all of us.
I personally think we need to narrow down our focus a bit and limit it to things we may possibly be able to change and start to figure out just what we might be able to do.
Right now the issues presented are scattered over the entire world and no action that I can see is being taken or even asked for, except for a few petitions here and there, a few letters written to media and newspapers and Congress.
So I am asking, “What you think about this; our purpose, the purpose of forums and blogs in general and what changes we could make that would make us (blog world) productive and effective and not just a big political chat room?
Lets talk!
Just had this thought that perhaps, news articles should have their own spot in the side bar. Just to read and check out and be linked to other info, but not requiring or even asking for comments. Like maybe “Daily news stories”.
Short answer (more later): talking is important, even about those far flung places. Even talking about this meta stuff is important. The nature of what you are saying is a topic that comes up again and again, often out of frustration. In fact I would prefer a thread at the top there just for “meta talk” or “what are we achieving here?” rather than East, West, South and so on.
Having thought about this a bit I’d actually dare to ask for more talk rather than less, and perhaps that might surprise you….
I thought the regional sections were great in theory. On the other hand, being from the midwest with no one participating, that section is of no value to me personally. (Although the other regions always appear to be active)
We are just using them for chit, chat, nothing meaningful. Its fine for that but not worth it I think, space could be put to a better use, Booman.
In fact I think I am almost the only one to use the West thread.
Just for the record, I spent the last 20 minutes writing an inspired, profound response to your diary. Sadly, and much to the detriment of all readers :-), it blew off into oblivion when I hit “post”. At this point, I’ll need to stick to recommending your diary, because I just finished an 18 hour stint on a client project and I need to go to bed.
Thanks for the thoughtful diary and I bid you adieu.
Your comments had me visualizing you, alone, chatting with yourself on the West thread, (not that there’s anything wrong with that :-), so I had to check it out. I was kind of surprised to see names I don’t see anywhere else on this site.
If nothing else, it gave off some really good vibes, and that’s certainly worth its weight in gold.
Sorry I didn’t get to reply to this yesterday because I was preoccupied but I haven’t forgotten – although I think most of what think has been covered below.
I will speak only for BooTrib, and not for dKos except by extension or distinction.
One purpose of this blog is to cover news that is being ignored or undercovered, or covered in an entirely parochial or jingoistic manner.
Another purpose is to hunt down corruption and to highlight stories about malfeasance in government.
Of course, we are too small to have much effect right now, but that will change…hopefully.
Another purpose is to build a community of politically educated and active people that can be mobilized to take actions…flooding a Congressperson with mail, having a meet-up in Seattle to support a progressive candidate, raising money for a worthy candidate etc.
As I said in my FP article on Israel, we are a government-in-waiting. Too much of our efforts are focused on mere critiques, while alternatives are ignored. Bush will not let us help, or participate. He just nominated a laundry list of the most reviled people in the country to head his second term government. He doesn’t want our help.
But we need to be prepared to take over. And so, we need to talk about global issues.
So, I agree with your critique.
But we also try to have fun here at the Frog-Pond. The next big election is 18 months off. We can’t take ourselves too seriously every day.
So, we should share our foibles and jokes, and not insist everything be framed in a political context.
We’ll ramp up late in the year when we start thinking about primaries.
I have no objection to the fun items as I dearly love them and they help to break up the monotany of the constant flood of bad news.
Perhaps they could be separated out into their own sections, such as news items, fun items, action items,, etc.
a guy walks into a bar, and on his shoulder he has a chimp:
(take it from there, someone?) ; )
…..so the chimp says to the bartender, hey my name is george and I’d like………..someone continue
Let me buy you a drink.
But choclate I would much rather if you made a comment, about the subject of the diary since you always make such interesting comments. Please
hi diane…well it’s mostly that I was thinking about this for the last couple hours and how hard it is to get even politically aware people actively engaged into doing anything.
Also I’m bit sensitive on the subject of suggesting what other people could do as I personally can’t do anything at all-due to the health and money issue but have had some people(not here) imply I’m just using that as an excuse for not getting out and getting involved.
Because of that I would be what you could call more of an armchair activist-meaning I send emails to my Senators, write some emails to paper, sign petitions. Sometimes I think that does no good yet at times it does make the politicians take notice if an overwhelming number of people do contact their respective Congresspeople.
Maybe a link that is up for several weeks on an important issue-such as a certain bill in Congress-to give everyone enough time to send a short email to their senators/representatives. If the link is right up front somewhere then no one could miss it or forget about it for several weeks.
Or there could be the national link for a bill issue and a link for a issue in a certain state that everyone might be interested in to write an email. I think the thing is to have it around for several weeks to let everyone be able to formulate response. Enough time and repetition of the link for several weeks would help.
Or maybe a suggestion box here where people put in what they think is an important issue and the one everyone is interested in the most would then be concentrated on for several weeks as again in people sending emails. Sorry but without being able to get out myself I just can’t seem to even think about concrete action responses outside of my own home.
I think this is kind of a lousy answer to your good question but best I can come up with for now.
Your comment was great! I think you made some excellent points.
As to your ‘not able to get out’ I have that problem as well and I don’t think that is the entire solution in any case. Plenty of work for us computer bound people to do, we just need direction. Lead us and we will follow, I guess would be my slogan.
I think we have the greatest, most powerful tool at our hand and that is the computer. We need to use it, I think, as a ‘weapon’ or at the least an instrument of change on the Congress and the Pres. UN. and others.
All of us do not need to be on the streets being active, there are plenty of others to do that.
Problem is I want to be more active right now at my computer and struggle to find the way. Maybe out of this discussion and others like it we may find a way. That is my hope.
Thanks for your post Chocolate.
I’m like you and wish there were more concrete ways to get involved to get something done on various issues, especially for people like us who can’t really get out. Frustrating.
I think the computer is going to become more/more one of the main tools of political activism and just wish I could figure out a better way for us to utilize that right now.
..and the bartender said thanks but not while I’m on duty, to which the chimp replied……
“I said to have a drink, damn and I mean it, Pentagon alert, we need a shoot down here.” to which the bartender replied,…….
…yeah sure you talk tough when you’ve got that big guy stuck to ya, and what’s his story anyway?
time for me to go eat my late dinner as usual and relax..
did you say, don’t you know your own vice president when you see him, I do, he picked me for president, so say your last goodbys before the precision bomb hits….
And where is infedilpig, he started this whole thing.
so the bartender says: “our house special today is the double filibuster, and this one, since it’s gonna be our last one, is on me” ; ) so the bartender (who’s name is R.C.Byrd) sets the drink on the bar, and then flips them the bird, the guy and the chimp are speechles, then the guy flips the chimps ear, (to get his attention, and that dumbass look off his face)
(next commentor enter here:)
The bartender then notices off to the side 3 big bar bullies coming up behind the chimp, there names are Boxer, REed, Pelosi, and behind them are………
…so the chimp chugs down the double filibuster, chomping on a pretzel and starts to choke, sliding into unconsciousness. The chimp faintly hears the guy shouting to call 911 and thinks to himself why does that-9/11 sound familiar?
I don’t want the page to get too wide with this thread, so I am posting at bottom the contunuation of the story.
Why – simple – we need a place to learn and share before we go out and take actions. I live in a Verrrry Blue area of Northern CA and my family lives in Utah. The past 4 years were appalling to all of us – but we didn’t know where to go or what to do.
I got started on blogs early last year – Talking Points Memo, then Billmon and Whiskey Bar, through Atrios and ultimately at Daily Kos, and now Booman Trib.
Each of the blogs offered a different perspective and a different thought process. Each gave me action items and a way to be involved at a national level. The blogs gave my family in the reddest state an outlet for information and a place to vent frustration.
This is such a small world we live in but there is too much information to read it all. Prior to blogs I would go home at night and read the Intl Herald Trib and the Guardian – sometimes the Saudi paper (English Version). I would get up early to read the NY Times and Wash Post and other papers around the US, especially Ohio papers.
During the end of the campaigns – I was on information overload and found that the blogs filtered some of the excess noise.
And I’m one of the whacky ones that loves snark and silliness just because it needs to be almost a daily part of our lives. I truly have virtual friends that are closer to me than those I’ve known for 20 years.
A sense of community – the politics brings us together, we share information and ourselves, and when needed we act…
Apologies for the ramble – any more and I’d need to do a diary instead…
.
One thing I’ve been trying to do since Nov is figure out how to get more involved out in the real world. I’ve been to meetups, house parties, DFT (Texas’ DFA) meetings. Our local precinct chair is spearheading an effort to spread the great ideas and action that have been working so well in our precinct by forming SWAD (SouthWest Austin Democrats), and I went to my first SWAD meeting last week.
Last summer DFA and My Vote is my Voice co-sponsored Democracy Fest in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to offer grassroots training in how to do political organizing. DFT is thrilled that we have been chosen to host this year’s DemFest in June. Kos and Jerome Armstrong will be leading a workshop on alternative media. Jeffrey Feldman one on framing. Howard Dean will be there. Two days of how-to workshops, amazing opportunities for networking. 700 people from 30 states and 3 foreign countries have registered already and the word went out last week that they’re almost at capacity, so if you want to be part of this, hurry up and sign up.
I was amazed that I couldn’t find anything about this on dKos or BooTrib, so I wrote a diary about it and posted it both places. And . . . not much interest, that I could see. BooMan dropped in and left a comment. But not much else. No recommends.
Now this is definitely not a matter of my being hurt that my diary was ignored. I just wanted to get the word out about what looked like a fantastic opportunity for all of those people who had been posting “How do I make a difference?” diaries and comments. Maybe people read it and rushed off to register for it with no commenting needed. And of course, not everyone who would like to go will be able to. But I wonder. I mean, I’m just really puzzled about this.
Now this is definitely not a matter of my being hurt that my diary was ignored. I just wanted to get the word out about what looked like a fantastic opportunity for all of those people who had been posting “How do I make a difference?” diaries and comments.
I’ve been puzzled by this as well, related to a project I started at the beginning of the year. I’ve come to the conclusion, after stepping back and listening a bit more, that what people are really asking is… “how to I make a difference in a way that suits me?”. I am not sure blog readers/posters… in the main… are the type to run out and do this that or the other thing. Or join this group or that group, other than as an informational thing.
If I had the skills, I would make up one of those personality match type tests… “What’s your political activism type?” and get answers that would focus people into areas where they… their particular talents, personalities and activism level could make a difference. Sometimes people need to just take small steps at first, or settle into a zone that suits them and then they are able to utilize the skills that they have to make a difference. However, making up tests like that and programming them and so on is not one of my particular activism skills, so…
Anyway, I think we’ll need to figure out ways to use the online communities worldwide in our efforts, and talking things out is one way to get to that point.
in reply to yours, Nanette, but instead I ended up (- diary whoring alert! -) turning it into a diary, Taking action: Daring to venture into the real world (w/ poll).
As many commenters on this thread have said – this phenomenon is in its infancy, or toddlerhood. We’re all taking “small steps” at his point, exploring different paths, trying to find a direction. But no matter which path we’re tentatively setting out on, it’s an improvement on impotently screaming at the TeeVee.
Great! I’ll go read it and comment.
I agree with both of you, in fact all of you, but in the regard you mentioned above
“”Maybe people read it and rushed off to register for it with no commenting needed. And of course, not everyone who would like to go will be able to. But I wonder. I mean, I’m just really puzzled about this.””
That is what I’m talking about, I think we need a click bar for research, and news items, that aren’t really much for a diary, but that you want to get out. Also action items for petitions, etc., I posted one today on OT and it probably just got lost there.
Some things are valuable to know and read but what kind of comment can you make, that is my problem a lot of times.
Funny (cuz it’s kinda true) – from the Observer::
A new term was coined by Assistant Editor Robert Yates in Observer news conference today:
Grief Porn. (n.) Gratification derived from a tenuous connection to the misfortunes of others; the gratuitous indulgence of tangential association with tragedy; getting off on really bad news.
The phenomenon first surfaced in the week following the death of HRH Diana Princess of Hearts and has resurfaced periodically ever since at times of national mourning and international disaster. It mostly affects people working in meeja.
Not to be mistaken for: real people feeling real pain.
I can only speak for myself, but I often write about events overseas purely to raise awareness.
I saw there was a strong debate in another Diary about Israel and Palestine, especially over the “occupation” angle.
But not once did I see the occupation of the Sawaharis people mentioned. Not once did I hear of the occupation of Abkhazia or Nagorno-Karabakh or Transdniestr. Not once did I hear of the occupation of the Malvinas Islands or Aceh or Moluka or Badme or South Ossetia or Assam.
Yet these are equally relevant cases, it’s just that a lot of people know little or nothing about them. But real people are affected by these issues and their respective governments are as well.
Sometimes simply being aware of starvation in Zimbabwe is the first step in a long process that ends with all of us making a fundamental change there.
Pax
Anyway I don’t advocate not having world wide subjects, but I think we need a section just for this type of subject, maybe.
I just wish there was some starting point we could grab on to try to address these issues and can’t seem to find one other than the foreign policy and the administration of the US. and maybe the UN.
Action is what I am looking for I guess, something we can do to bring about a change.
I don’t think we can afford to wait until the next major election to take action. There are issues I think we can address now. Maybe petitions written by DK and BoomanTrib and set up like others are for all of us to sign and then forward to UN and US or whatever.
Use the power of the people maybe in a way that has never before been done. I don’t know, I am searching.
Being aware ‘is’ the first step as you so aptly put it and I would never want to stop the flow of that info. I just want to take that info and use it somehow to evidence a change.
And soj, thank you so much! Your blog is by far the best round-up of otherwise invisible or nearly-invisible world news that I have ever seen.
It’s appalling that supposedly world-class newspapers like the NYT and WaPo simply ignore most of the world. As a Canadian, for example, I find over and over again that a big story in Canada (usually regarding U.S. bullying of Canada via trade sanctions, etc.) is roundly ignored in the NYT. And if Canada is ignored, don’t even think about South Ossetia.
So thank you very much for filling that gap!
As to diane’s original question: yes, there can be a tendency to overindulge in pointless noise-making. And every once in a while a friendly reminder like this diary is very therapeutic. And sometimes, it’s best to take a break for a while. But overall, it’s better to be thinking and talking about real stuff than to be living in some media-induced fantasy land (sports, soap operas, celebrity gossip, fashion, etc. etc.). It could be a lot worse!
This is why BooTrib is my favorite, because it seems like there’s more time to get to know people. And I learn so much from the international crowd and your reports from your Iraqi friend about how things are going worldwide. The different viewpoints make current events seem less overwhelming–we’re all in this together!
I like the meta-diaries and breaking news and the silly stuff and the quizzes, as well as the serious analysis and discussions, BUT what I really look for is action. As CaliBlogger once said, “Talk is good, Learning is good, Action is better.”
Lots of individual action opportunities on BooTrib and DK. NYCO on DK got a letter-writing campaign started that pulled the nastiest flag t-shirt ever from the Abbey Print catalog. Locally, we’ve distributed flyers on Social Security and the Bankruptcy Bill that I wrote using reality-based information from various diaries. Via a link posted in an open thread, I got help from the San Fernando Democrat chair in writing an anti-privatization SS resolution that was passed by my County Democratic Central Committee. Just found out that a Montana Kossack has started a PAC to defeat Senator Conrad Burns, so I signed up to help with research. Lots of helpers needed if anyone is interested. Third Degree PAC
ShetQuaker posts a regular feature, now on BooTrib! The Action Diaries are full of wonderful causes and direct action links, so I can contribute something even on my worst days. I really hope people stop by and welcome SQ to this nice pond. Check it out: Today’s Action Diary
Thanks for pointing that out to me. Today Susanhbu and I both posted action petitions on open thread, but I doubt most people saw them.
I like this action diary, but would rather see a section for this, so we can quickly go to this area to find what’s up today, and also post our own action alerts we find in our daily emails and in our travels through the internet.
In addition I would like to see a sign in place like a tell me about you, area so we can go an find a bit about a poster.
This site is so unique and has a ton of potential, that I think we need to keep pushing so that we can make it powerful. Word I keep using over and over, it seems on this diary.
Love the debate, love the info, love the people here, just want more action. As the saying goes, all talk and no action makes Jack a very dull boy, or at least I think that’s how it goes, but apropos of that in any case.
I had an idea a while ago about a site that has rooms for different issues, Iraq, Congress, World, etc., and you could go in these rooms for action, discussion, info etc. with a moderator for each room to assist.
Wish I could design a site like that. Maybe we can make booman into an approximation of that idea , I hope.
Oh and I want to say I think the frog should be named boomer.
I have to say also that this site and DK is a collection of some of the brightest minds and I feel like such a little pin prick in the face of that, but happy to be part of it nontheless.
In two words: information and networking.
What the Left, in the US, has been missing since the self-destruction of the SDS was a national and international mechanism for getting the news out, discussing the news, and networking with like minded people.
Blogging is in its infancy. Nobody can tell how it is going to go and what the run-on affects and effect will be. Before blogging how could a person in New Mexico US of A (me) read the comments of a person in France (Jerome a Paris), Wales (Welshman), or you, for that matter, and – maybe at some point – work in tandem on something. Certainly I would never have been able to bypass the newsmedia and present questions about the oncoming elections in the UK, as I did last week, directly to people living in the UK who are/will be active (?) in the elections. And if I could I certainly would NOT have gotten answers within hours.
Perhaps blogging will come down to hi-tech navel gazing and preaching to the converted. Perhaps. But given the short amount of time blogging has been around and the short amount of time blogs such as dKOS or Booman Tribune have existed to claim that blogs are such and only such is premature.
I guess I am paraphrasing an old New Lefty saying, “Have a little patience. Have a little faith.” What is happening now is something I haven’t seen since 1969. A communication infrastructure – an international communication infrastructure – by the grassroots Left for the grassroots Left. This is something we – in the US – haven’t had since the demise of the SDS publication ‘New Left Notes.’
People have been working away on diverse and seperate projects but haven’t been able to communicate or cross-fertilize. Neither have we had the ability to put local issues and actions into a broader perspective.
With the people on this list, nevermind dKOS, we absofreakinglutly have the rudiments, albeit inchoate, for a international think-tank. Is it there yet? No. But the potential is fantastic. In the same manner we have the rudiments, albeit inchoate, for international organization. At the same time we have the rudiments for sustained, organized, international, action.
The fact it’s not there today doesn’t mean it won’t be there in the future.
And, besides, where else can we go to Blame the French for everything? (A button came off my shirt cuff today. It’s Chirac’s fault!)
I came to the blogosphere about two months befor ethe elction looking for more and real information. At that time, I did not even know exactly what a blog was. My son told me about dkos. A whole new world opened up for me. I lurked until after the election I think and then shared in the common grief and shock we all were feeling. I was amazed at what people were doing to get kerry elected. Because of that blog I became more aware and signed up to help at the local level to GOTV. I wrote emails to senators, representatives, newspapers, televisoin stations, yes, even the President. I talked to swing voters, friends, relatives co workers and even pursuaded two to vote for our side. No matter how small we feel the action is how little is being heard or done for our concerns every action counts. Whether it is doing research here for a diary or I mean God look was SusanG and company have done and are still doing with the Guckert scandal. That whole investigation has led to a new media that is truly getting noticed. Part of our mission, no matter what issues we are passionate about is to never let up, not for a minute. I do it for me, for you and most of all for my darling grand daughter. It is her future I am willing to sacrifice whatever I need to to make sure that she will grow up in a free country. We all have to find our way in this journey. We all want to be heard, to be really listened to and after these past five years some times its difficult to keep on going and keep the hope alive. But then I look into my precious grand daughters eyes and feel I have a soled obligation to her now to make things right.
You see I was one of those that became apathetic and in doing so feel complicite in what has occured. You are taking action Diane by giving your questions a voice. We all will not agree on every issue but can be supportive of one another by just being here. Hey, I am all for taking it to the streets,. Look at the turn out for the death of thePope. The question is if we have so many people so pissed at this form of government corruption why are we not willing to do whatever it takes to get them out? A Million Mothers marched on DC why aren’t we?
I
I think that this forum is past the infant stage, and begining to toddle. In time we’ll progress, just like any human does, and as in life, it’s going to be trial, and error, and the key to that, is learning from the falls we take.
It won’t be long, and I predict that in 06, we’re going to learn to run, maybe a little clumsily at first, but just like a junior high school track member, we’re going to hone those skills, and bi-god, by the time we’re ready for college in 08, we’re going to bring the gold home. ; )
I noticed in a couple of comments here, that some feel they cannot be of that much help.
WRONG. Absolutely wrong, you are the catylist that keeps the runner going, the coach, the cheerleader, and even the water boy, has a critical part to every team.
I salute those people in the background, for without you, we are NOT a TEAM.
For you in the background, deserve more credit than the one who cross’ the line, for without you, there will be no line to cross.
(I’m the guy at the hot dog stand with a beer in his hand, and mustard in his mustache, telling them his team is gonna win, and ready to argue that fact. ; )
…for following my two favorite political blogs (Booman and DK) are easy – I wanted to learn.
I felt completely politically ignorant (and still do, somewhat) and I thought that places like this are the best to get my questions answered, to do some reading and learning, and to meet like-minded people. I have accomplished all three of these things, but learning is a never-ending process, and I read things here every day that I never knew about before.
Like some of you, it’s virtually impossible for me to get out and actually pound the pavement – but it’s because I work full time as well as take care of a family, and as a lot of you know, those things can take up all your time and then some. But, I do what I can. I write letters, sign petitions…just like Diane and Chocolate do. I don’t know how much this helps, but I tell myself that it’s more than I was doing before, and anything is better than nothing.
I am always open to suggestions and education – always. That’s another reason I hang out here – the Boomen and Boowomen are always great with giving suggestions on what can be done, or what needs to be done. These places are extremely valuable tools for people like me.
good diary diane.
i sometimes have similar thoughts. is all this talk really worthwhile ?
but let me tell you about my pre blogging experience. i used to read the press in england, watch the news and wonder what the hell was going on in the usa.
i’d admit to being very very anti american at that time, all the horrendous actions and consequences of the current administration blinkering me and causing me to not think rationally about the internal make up of your country.
i found dkos via the guardian around two months before last years election and, well, what a pleasant surprise. hey many americans think about the outside world ! many americans don’t perceive global domination at all costs to be the goal !
from there to soj, booman, josh marshall, steve clemons, riverbend…..you know.
so my point is i’d be pretty confident i’m not the only non american on american blogs having my preconceived ideas altered.
and to me that is valuable.
and from the (very rare) foray into the madness that is the repub blogging world i’d say me/you/we/us have to keep going.
as the bbc coat of arms has it “nation shall speak peace unto nation”
as very reassuring and validating of my vision for the site. I think Ductape was also eloquent on the subject, but in a slightly different direction.
It is very important that we make an effort to understand the troubles other nations are facing.
And it is also important that people living abroad can see that US policies are not uniformly supported or unquestioned, or even hotly opposed by a huge bloc of Americans.
Dialogue is valuable, in and of itself.
I’ve been living abroad for a good many years and for much of that time my only insight into what is going on was courtesy of the MSM, supplemented by infrequent family visits. These blogs reassure me that yes, there are (still) people left who share my values.
I feel particularly comfortable here because the “rest of the world” gets attention as well.
“I was reading a book that day in Florida I think, yeah, there was something else going on that day, what was it.!!!!!!!??????#####…..
and I am not sure anybody knows yet.
All I can say for sure is what I use them for, and that is to get information, and express my opinion.
Just as this blog makes an effort to highlight stories that just may not make it to the crusadenets, every blogger has the opportunity to echo that very significant little blip from Baku Today.
And all bloggers, by definition, have something to say. 🙂
Does anyone pay any attention? In my opinion, yes and no. Just huge corporate news orgs, blogs are read by people. And people tend to gravitate more toward material that says what they want to hear, and click off of things that they disagree with, that make them feel uncomfortable.
Now the news orgs have no choice. They are a business. They cannot afford to serve too generous a helping of unpopular, unpleasant, frightening stories, no matter how true they may be.
Bloggers have a choice, but it is not always an easy one to make. People here of this or that blog becoming influential, being mentioned by corporate media, even generating revenue.
Those things can all be very tempting, but whether it’s on a blog, or on Fox News, people want good news. They want reassurance, they want a positive outlook, and they want to read things that they feel affect them.
Unfortunately for many American readers, most of the things that affect them most at the moment are not things that they really perceive as affecting them.
Tell the average American SUV owner that everything from his bank balance, to his continued status as a private vehicle owner, to his son’s career, to his son’s living long enough to have a career depends more on people he has never seen in a place he can’t pronounce, and he will scoff at you.
It is unlikely that you will get past his selective perception. If he is a reading man, he will be much more likely to pore over a detailed analysis of various political factions in, for instance, Iraq, completely oblivious to the fact that Iraq is currently occupied by a hostile entity, and that single item affects him more than any political shenanigans among the Iraqis themselves, which shenanigans will of necessity be focused primarily on either vanquishing the invader or obtaining a benefit from the invader.
He simply does not see his nation as an invader, an occupier, or hostile. He is not only uninterested in hearing that it is all those things, he is “alienated” by it.
What is the blogger’s responsibility? How much effort should he put into trying to get this man to understand that his perception of the world is diametrically opposed to the perception of most of the people who live in it, and that his fate lies not in the hands of a handful in Washington, but has already been placed firmly in the hands of Washington’s victims?
What exactly does the blogger suppose that the SUV owner is going to do about it? What CAN he do about it?
Is it not more humane to leave him in peace, with his Fox News and rewritten centcom press releases about how “the insurgency is being crushed?”
It is not realistic for the blogger to suppose that he can change this man’s mind, if only he finds that perfect link, if only his prose is eloquent enough, if only he repeats it again and again, slowly and in the simplest of words.
The best he can hope for is that he may make someone think, which could, not likely, but could, save one life, and that will be appreciated by those who love that person.
Failing that, he may make someone’s last moments more comfortable, and that, too, is no small thing.
Individuals will get what they want from political blogs. You are right about a lot of inane comments, but sometimes they are alot of fun when you are part of a thread.
It’s a good idea to step back and question the meaning of blogs and the time spent on them.
For me, it is great form of communication.
As for their usefulness. I will give you one example. mrs.brown posted a diary on kos about her possessions owning her. There followed many suggestions and encouragement about getting rid of clutter, simplifying one’s lifestyle etc. Ever since then, I’ve been working on both and it feels great. I keep remembering all those comments from that diary.
Someone posted a comment on kos about the late Pope’s visit to Nicaragua that was very interesting. Later I met a Nicaraguan who was actually there at the rally when the Pope appeared. I was able to converse with him about this.
Communication and information, that’s the purpose. Those two things lead to action.
– and haven’t seen any other comments as I write.
Quoting the diarist:
Sure I agree we should be interested in the whole world, but is that diffusing the problems we have in this country and our ability to take effective action (another question in itself).
In the context of this follows talk about “wasting time.”
As the author of two diary entries on the tragic history and developments of Zimbabwe, each of which took me nearly a working day to research, write up, and format, I can only say I regret having wasted someone’s time. If the Americans on this site prefer the focus to be limited to US-centered activism, I’ll have no problem finding other uses for my own.
It’s a lovely weather outside on this Saturday morning. Completing that piece on the forgotten war against the children of Northern Uganda – a disaster that totally dwarfs Darfur – suddenly doesn’t feel like a top priority.
I will now read the other comments. If they tend to agree with what this diarist said, I am out of here.
is that Diane101 was just expressing some frustration…she is interested in taking action, as she puts it. And sometimes it feels like all we do is make commentary.
I don’t think she intended to give the impression that world issues are a waste of time, but more to raise a question about priorities.
In any case, I love your diaries, so please keep ’em coming 🙂
Yes, please do keep your diaries coming. I don’t think that was Diane’s intent at all, in her statement – it was just put awkwardly.
I look forward to your diaries, and others who write on world and US events, because of the time you guys take to pull the strings together and present information in a clear and easily understandable way. We may not be able to do anything about various situations right at this moment (some we can), but without arming ourselves with even the basic information, we’ll never even bother to make the attempt.
Which was whether we need to be more action oriented. I did not say those stories were a waste of time I am asking the question, should we do more.
If you read any of my comments I made below the story you would see that I do think all of the info is valuable, and worthwhile as all of us do, perhaps it is the wording of the way I said it. I was trying to say that those stories need a special place on the board, so that one can easily click on a link and find them and I was directly talking about why a lot of comments were not made on these stories and explained why I felt so.
“”” How can we possibly take a viable interest in every one of these issues and if we do what can be done about them””””
Never, never,never did I say that your stories and other were wasting peoples times, I was asking I guess, could we do more than just comment, but find some action and if so what action.
I am speaking as a commenter and how difficult it is to find a comment worthy of the tradegy or depth of the various stories and the personal agony I feel over the various situations and my inability to help.
The diary is discussing and defining the purpose of blogs and forums and not about judging the worth of articles.
I personally think that stories such as yours and other should be kept in a special section after they are no longer visible on the list so that we can easily go and check this or that subject as references.
I surely never meant to imply otherwise so forgive me if I did. I am concerned about the whole world.
Diane,
Thanks for the reply and the update, in light of which I’ll change the rating. I did find your original entry annoying in suggesting that awareness-raising stories about world affairs distract from grassroots activism such as online petitions, e-mail campaigns et cetera, though you have now made clear that you don’t consider the former to be without merit.
I didn’t, and still don’t, quite see how these aren’t complementary aspects of creating an international progressive movement. OTOH there is no lack of more exclusively action-oriented fora for those so inclined. DU comes to mind; even dKos to a large degree. Booman Tribune has a more balanced diet, which is part of why I like it. It is less myopic than many other sites.
Nor do I see how it is a problem that some background and world stories don’t attract a lot of comments. That comes with the territory. From the diarist’s point of view, a recommend is more than fine as a token of appreciation. But if you are suggesting – and I’m not sure whether you are – that comments should be disabled for certain types of entry, I completely disagree. Personally I would never post an entry not open for comments. The option of interacting with the author and other readers is essential to this medium.
I also doubt that it is necessary, or even desirable, to keep background/world stories separate on the board. But I have no objection to a separate reference archive if anyone would find that useful.
Thanks again for clarifying your stance, and no hard feelings.
Sirocco, I really don;t have a firm stance on any of these issues above as I am just searching and asking at this point, except for my desire for activism.
Some other posters have suggested in the past that they feel sort of unnoticed, I guess if their articles do not get comments. I think we are all engaged in shaping this page here right now as we have had many discussion to that effect and Booman has asked us how we feel about the site, etc.
As to an international progressive movement, I do want that, of course I do, I love it that we have all these members from around the world and I have been trying to pick up more international members as I travel around the internet, by leaving Booman’s link on comments.
I want the help of the entire world as a matter of fact because it doesn’t seem that we progressives here can stop Bush and co.
I have a email pal in Uganda, by the way as well as one in Iraq and would like to have more, but do not have the time to keep up correspondence with too many. I have long suggested in my comments here and on DK that others should try to acquire an international email pal and if any one is reading this and wants one, try Jolly Rogers site, which has a large penpal listing.
I’m sorry that I was not clear in my original diary as I found it difficult to state clearly, but I tried and then tried to flesh it out with my comments.
My problem is that I do not like the slow pace of the progressive movement in general, and I am constantly searching for ways to become more active. I do not want to wait until the next election for ‘us’ to be really active and think there may be ways for us to do that now.
I hope you have checked out my blog site, where I focus a lot on Iraq and my friend there.
As to news items, I do feel that many have news alerts and there is no real place to post them unless one does a diary, to assure that they are seen. I would also like to see an archive of researched stories or diaries for easy access to future reference.
Another feeling I have is that regarding most of the problems we see world wide is that the US and the UN have either caused it or can help to fix the problems, if they altered foreign policy in the case of the US and in the case of the UN, they are either not doing enough or not doing it good enough and both need to be pressured to change approach and do it right. I think we as bloggers can and should do that pressuring.
I have some ideas how we can accomplish these goals (pressuring the US and the UN), and I will soon diary them and see what others think and they will involve people in other countries in the action I will propose.
I am a seeker just like all the others here, and seek to find answers as well as change. I do not pretend that I have the answers, only I have the questions and hopefully they will lead in some small part to the answers and directions we can go in.
Stories of tragedies around the world are deeply saddening to me and I want to use those feelings to propel change.
I feel so overwhelmed at times as to the amount, extent and kinds of problems faced in many countries and often feel hopeless that we can change them, so I personally try to focus my attention on change and action.
So certainly no hard feeling, never did have them but certainly appreciate your asking.
Please keep writing the diaries…we can not be isolationist but without spending all our waking hours reading world papers we would never know.
I like Booman especially for the world information and perspective.
It’s interesting how two people can read a diary and come away with a completely different idea of what the diarist meant to convey.
What I took from the diary is that Diane is someone who does care about the rest of the world or she wouldn’t be on this site and she has also made it a point to become an email pen pal of someone in Iraq personally and did a diary about this…that doesn’t sound like someone not interested in the rest of the world.
There are days when I will avidly read all the world diaries, read terrible things and then rant to myself that what good does it do as I can’t ‘do’ anything. That doesn’t mean I’m going to quit reading because somehow, somewhere it will come up that hopefully I can do something.
It seems also that Diane while taking nothing away at all from all world news/diaries would simply like to figure out a way to have people here become more constructively active in our national politics and help effect some change from our efforts.
That’s my take on reading her diary.