Blogs

I have decided that blogs are weird. I have began to pay more attention to, and reading, other people's blogs. I find there are two types of blogs. Those written by people considered to be experts in their blogging field, and then the people who tend to treat a blog like an online diary, basically chronicling their own experiences and reflecting on them. After coming to that conclusion, I decided that I must be in the latter category, as I am not recognized as a person who has expert experience in pretty much anything. Here's the rub though... My blog isn't really set up as a "share my experiences" blog either. I'm proud to say that I fit into a whole other category: blogs by people who pretend they know stuff. I can only speak from my own personal feeling as to my own blog, but everyone once in a while, paranoia creeps in. I have found myself on occasion asking those closest to me, "Do you actually read my blog? Do you actually enjoy it?" 

The problem with writing a blog of this nature is that you know you're making shit up. Don't get me wrong. I really do feel strongly about what I am writing about and I really am trying to convey a message that I think is important. My paranoia lies in the fact that I absolutely have no right to say anything to anyone about any particular topic. And it leads me to ponder if people equate reading my blog to watching the first week of American Idol. I'm not a philosopher, or a psychiatrist, or a physicist, or a theologian, or a politician, or a teacher. I don't even watch Dr. Phil. So where do I get off writing about authenticity and criticizing people for what I judge to be "bad faith" behavior? 

I always think of Nietzsche's words (and I'll paraphrase, because what kind of a sicko memorizes Nietzsche?), "Too many people will tell you to take their word as authority, I say be like me and think for yourself." I lost two weeks of my life trying to wrap my head around that aphorism. *Focus, Robert* So after some soul searching, I decided that the importance of this blog is not as a place to find advice or for me to critique the current state of the world. It is a place where I can point out the inconsistencies in life, and raise awareness. Essentially, I can live with being a faker, since I'm not claiming to have any answers, just questions to make people want to know if there is an answer.

Besides, we all know the answer is 42 anyway.