Lost our edge

The views are still running very strong on the blog, over 5600 today. Our new guests are apparently checking out a lot of stuff I wrote around 2010. I haven't looked at a lot of these posts in years and one thing genuinely stands out in rereading them; the commenting was much more robust in the early days. And my writing was not nearly as politically correct.

today's top ten

As irritating as Kerry could be, he kept the pot stirred. Ditto Grumpy. The blog has never quite recovered from Window Dancer's exit. MMWB was a great contrarian voice. As was Jeff from Nebraska, Stan in New York, my dearly departed Uncle Norm. All sayonara.

Now in our sixteenth year, I miss a lot of our early participants. I would often get intellectually challenged in the old days and honestly I enjoyed it. Pilpul, we call it in yiddish, the back and forth.

Frankly, you people have gotten soft or just don't care anymore. Too much pickleball, too much television, too much me, I can't really say.

But I look back at some of the hot and heavy go-rounds we used to have and think we really lost track somewhere along the way. 4,222,428 views down the pike and now we have gotten flabby around the middle.

Can't we all "not get along?"

Honestly, I think it was much easier to have a frank political discussion ten years ago. Arguments now tend to fragment towards the extreme fringe and people are scared to consider a middle or differing position that might lump them in with the opposing narrative.

After Trump, and I suppose Covid to some degree, beliefs were hardened and people stopped talking with people who did not share their political views. Long term relationships were sadly lost. I hope the blast remains a place where people can agree to disagree and always feel welcome.