Five Years Later
If you’re like me, you’ve been writing these columns for 5 years. I know, I didn’t think they’d let me go this long either.
I thought I’d take a break from the usual combination of current events, Isaac Asimov tribute, curmudgeonly complaint, and ecstatic tangent on some historical oddity to address how these articles are edited and the most common feedback I receive.
Juliet, my wife, and I got married a few days before my first column came out. In fact, our wedding was the subject of that first article. With the rare exception, she is the first one to read these articles, and tell me if I’m too confusing, sarcastic, or have simply misspelled every third word. (I wish that last one was a joke.) Juliet always finds something salvageable in my writing. She’s only made me start from scratch twice over 5 years and that seems like a decent enough average.
I’ve received a few responses to these columns over the years. They’ve come in person, through the mail, social media, and two letters to the editor. While they are generally positive, except for the letters to the editor, more than half of them include some version of, “I don’t always agree with you, but…” I have grown to really appreciate that comment.
For one thing, I don’t always agree with me either. Sometimes I’m more intent on expressing an idea because I think it’s neat rather than making a full-fledged argument about it. Occasionally it isn’t until after I’ve written a piece that I start forming my opinions.
More importantly though, the fact that a reader doesn’t always agree with me but keeps reading, is one of the most valuable parts of this opportunity I have. We are trained to turn off viewpoints that don’t align with our own. The act of exchanging ideas and engaging with new perspectives or concepts without being concerned with winning the argument is a rare pursuit. I’m thrilled that so many of you seem to not agree with what I write but are willing to entertain the ideas.
I start each piece with “If you’re like me…” At least one of you has told me that every time you read that you shout, “but I’m not like you.” That’s the point. These articles are simply one person’s experience and perspectives. You probably will disagree with me at one point or another because you’re not like me. I try to extrapolate my perspective to broadly applicable topics but at the end of the day, I’m just some chucklehead who tricked the paper into giving me space every 2 weeks.
You’re probably not like me. I’m not like you. We will disagree. But if experiences and ideas can be shared, disagreements become manageable obstacles, not insurmountable walls between people.
Maybe that’s a bit overblown though, or a self-selecting kind of result. The only people who reach out are the ones that are surprised that they agree with me on something. Honestly, despite assurances from several people over the years, I’m always a little surprised when I find out anyone besides my mom reads what I write.
I have enjoyed writing these articles and hope you’ve enjoyed reading them, even if you don’t always agree. I hope to be writing for a while longer and maybe even on a wider scale. I’ve got several short-stories and a novel in various stages of completion. For now, these articles are a fun way for me to share perspectives and points of interest worthy of 600 words. Ideas worth 3 minutes of your time.
Thanks for reading.
