Kicking and screaming, into the blogosphere

I always swore I would never do this. Blogs have always seemed to me to be self-indulgent flights of vanity. Even the name "blog" sounds like something the cat hocked up on the floor and that you might step in when you wake up and are walking to the bathroom.

But this past week has made me rethink this idea. True, the name still is an embarrassment to the English lexicon, but the idea of a sort of public diary has grown on me. I've sporadically kept journals in the past, and the content tends to drift toward the deeper questions about existence and the human experience. And, frankly, living in a rural and heavily conservative area as I now do, I miss the long discussions with friends I had in my college days, where two people can disagree (even vehemently so) about issues, but remain civil. (Sadly, the Inland Empire is hardly a bastion of tolerance of even mildly differing viewpoints.)

I wouldn't exactly call it a crisis of faith, per se, but I grow alarmed at the cultural divide in our nation, where those who believe in a higher power increasingly isolate themselves from "mainstream" society, which eliminates a crucial balance for society to hold together. Abraham Lincoln once said that a house divided against itself cannot stand; though this isn't quite what he was referring to, the statement is no less true.

And so, I embark on what may be a fruitful quest, or a waste of time. I can't tell yet. Hopefully, articulating my thoughts on the deep issues of modern society (religion, politics, and pop culture--hey, I didn't say they were deep in anyone's mind but my own) and discussing them will lead to something, if only a better understanding of my own thoughts and beliefs. I plan to once again try to read through the Bible front to back (I've attempted this before, but always get sidetracked somewhere around I Chronicles, though I've read most of the rest in bits and pieces), using this as a sort of contract between myself and anyone reading to do so.

My beliefs aren't quite "normal" for the religious set. I encourage anyone reading to agree or disagree as they see fit. I only ask that anyone responding keep the tone civil; any hateful, obscene, or derogatory comments will be deleted. Disagreement is ultimately a good thing, but it shouldn't lead to anger or insults. For my part, I'll try to update this at least once a day. (And, conversely, update it only once or twice a day. I have a tendency to ramble.)

In case anyone is wondering, I will explain the reasoning behind both the title and the somewhat weird image to your right over the next few days. It's not totally random insanity. (It's calculated insanity.)

Somehow, this post still seems self-indulgent. I suppose an introduction must. Perhaps tomorrow, I can feel less like a jackass tooting my own horn.