Controversy and Politics

Yesterday's post apparently got more people's attention than normal.  It seems that controversial subjects draw folks like flies are drawn to a rotting carcass.  I probably have images of a rotting carcass somewhere on this computer, but I figured it best to put something more symbolic at the top, such as this post.  It's a crooked post -- at least from this angle -- but, I suspect if you look at it in line with the fence it appears to be fairly straight.

Our points of view certainly impact our interpretation of things.  Age apparently, based on some of the comments yesterday, is a big factor in that point of view.  The amount of travel we have done and exposure to other cultures also affects our view of things.  Our religious beliefs or, maybe I should better state that as "moral beliefs," also influence how we look at events, people and things.

Apparently something I said in yesterday's post triggered the idea that my commentary was racist in some respect.  It certainly wasn't intended that way; race never entered my mind.  I think race is a misconstrued concept anyway since there is an endless gradation in skin color, eye color, facial features, etc.  Human genetics has become so blended that the concept of race is mostly fallacy anyway except, perhaps, in the case of a few isolated people groups.

Switching gears:  I watched the Presidential State of the Union speech last night.  There really shouldn't have been anything controversial there except that the three figures most prominent throughout were old and white (there's that perception of race again) however, controversy had been injected into the speech before it was ever given since the Impeachment debacle is still ongoing.  I suppose it was simply symptomatic of that ongoing power struggle between the House Speaker and the President that prompted the apparent rancor between them exhibited in a snubbed handshake, a non-traditional introduction and a torn up speech.  The Speaker reminded me of a viper in a cage that really wanted to strike, but knew the glass would just chip a tooth.  I refused to watch the rebuttal -- which the concept of a rebuttal to a State of the Union speech just simply makes no sense to me.  Everything is viewed as political in Washington when instead, it should be about what is being done to help "we the people" experience a better life.

One thing is certain; if I want to increase the readership of my blog I need to stick to controversial topics.  My typical blog traffic usually goes up with a politically related post, but it literally soared yesterday with the commentary regarding the Super Bowl halftime show.  I'm not in it for the readership.  Other than the occasional post that stirs things up I'll probably stick with the ordinary, everyday, hopefully positive message that is my norm.