Why We Blog
The Washington Post has a front page story today about a self-described "angry" blogger. Of course I'm envious of My Left Wing's sticky eyeballs and today's ink, but I have to agree with the premise of the question the Post reporter asks (and, this being the Post, never answers):
Do the hundreds of thousands of daily visitors to Daily Kos, who sign their comments with phrases such as "Anger is energy," accomplish anything other than talking among themselves?
The article describes how My Left Wing's author composes what she calls her "long, sustained scream":
She will write about Darfur. The shame of it. The culpability of all Americans, including herself, for doing nothing. She will write something so filled with outrage that it will accomplish the one thing above all she wants from her anger: to have an effect.
"Darfur is not hopeless," she begins typing, and pauses.
"Ugh," she says.
"You are not helpless," she continues typing, and pauses again.
"Weak."
She deletes everything and starts over.
"WAKE THE [expletive] UP," she writes next...
And lo and behold, by the end of the article she's received 200 responses, including
"Thank you for the kick in the [expletive]."
"I wrote to my [expletive] so-called representatives."
"I also wrote to my [expletive] congressman to get off his [expletive] [expletive] and do the right [expletive] thing."
"You know what?" O'Connor says. "I did a good thing today." And for a moment, anyway, she isn't angry at all.
I don't buy this reasoning. I've worked for tons of radical causes in my time, and hurled invective at the gates of authority more times than you can shake a stick at, if that's your idea of a good time. But I'm also a professional writer and as I've written here and elsewhere, I believe in the value of professional writing when persuading people to make political decisions. I've had direct mail clients who've lamented, can't we just write "send money now" on a postcard? Nope. It takes clever people like me to write words that get you to do hard things like voting or giving up some of your hard-earned dollars. Urgency, attacks, even anger all have their place, but all those angry people on the net should join me in memorizing my favorite Robert Kennedy quote, the one about "acts of courage and belief." Optimism trumps pessimism in politics. Keep Hope Alive!
And on Daily Kos and My Left Wing, the responses keep rolling in.
"Thank you, Maryscott."
"Thank you for the kick in the [expletive]."
"I wrote to my [expletive] so-called representatives."
"I also wrote to my [expletive] congressman to get off his [expletive] [expletive] and do the right [expletive] thing."
"You know what?" O'Connor says. "I did a good thing today." And for a moment, anyway, she isn't angry at all.
Moonbat therapy... and nobody was forced to pay for it.
Two thumbs up!
Posted by: Scott | Saturday, 15 April 2024 at 11:36 PM