I'm old enough to remember when there was no Internet, electronic mail or weblogs, and I confess posting anything for all the world to see makes me feel like a narcissist. Who gives a rip about what some middle-aged guy from Santa Barbara, California has to say -- about anything?
On the other hand, we are living in an Age of Dumbness, a fact proven by the results of our recent national elections, when the voting public made a half-wit President legitimate and also elected a bunch of right-wing crackpots to the House and Senate. I'm still grappling with the aftermath, the portents and implications of what occured eleven days ago. Hell, I'm still wrestling with the popularity of "Reality" TV.
Forgive me, I'm slow.
In the Age of Dumbness our cultural gatekeepers ask people like Paris Hilton and Carmen Electra for their opinion on politics, even though one can argue that neither is more qualified to offer an opinion than I am. I have, after all, been voting for nearly a quarter century. I remember Carter, Reagan, Bush I; I've watched Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw grow old. The hypocrisy of the Clinton impeachment is still fresh in my mind, the stark contrast of the famous presidential blow-job with the deadly perfidy of the current Administration. Go figure.
So, perhaps, after all, I have something to add to the world of electronic chatter that might make sense to someone other than myself: a thought on current events, an impression of a Saturday afternoon sky, a rant against the local school district, or a revelation inspired by a fine novel. The urge to communicate has been with our species for a very long time, so why shouldn't this caveman scratch some words on the wall?
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