It seems odd, now I come to think of it that I haven’t jumped on this blogging thing before. Being someone who has always had an opinion on, well everything. If this medium had appeared 20 years ago I’m sure I would  have been all over it, spouting angry, probably ill informed rhetoric on every possible topic and current issue. But instead it appeared while I was either too busy, too distracted or too disengaged to take advantage. And as I have grown older, I am no less opinionated, but maybe somewhat more cautious in those opinions. Not because I fear contradiction, it’s something that I welcome and appreciate, but because as I have experienced more, read more and understood more about my existence and the human condition, I have realised that there are few absolute, unequivocal opinions that a person can hold and still claim to seek the truth.

The truth is rarely black and white. It is filled with nuance, variables, further considerations that modern society, or at least modern media (surely a reflection of modern society) loves to overlook for the sake of simplicity, a punchy headline or economic use of space. A simple binary opinion is so much easier to live with and to shout about. Its much harder to shout detail, you’re in danger of losing your voice and your audience. So I have found myself less inclined to shout, but more inclined to explore the detail and try to understand the wider context, to study the ripples on the water, and the hand that threw the stone, as well as the moment of impact and who got wet.

So I’m going to write down some thoughts as they come to me and if anyone reads them, I’m sure my ego will get a little tickle. My intention is to write my thoughts and ideas on whatever happens to be occupying my mind. You will find no three word slogans or angry but ultimately indefensible opinions, and you will not be able to simply shout or stamp your agreement or disagreement. But you may be able to question the methodology of analysis, hopefully you will be inclined to further explore the idea, but probably you’ll not give a crap and move on to look at cats or porn, which is also good.

Well, there you go! My first! Hopefully Blogs are like cars and this will be my first, cheapest and crappiest of many.