Often it is the case with me, and one of much consternation; that when I'm presented with an assignment; it will likely be met with such anxiety and indolence, that I go through something similar to the "five stages of grief." The bright side to this, is that I always end up at the acceptance stage. For this reason, it didn't take very long to get the sense that Alex Reid; in his essay Why Blog? Searching For Writing On the Web; was speaking directly to the kind of person that I am.
I didn't find any of the content within the numerous pages to be dry; nor did any of those familiar thought traps slither into my consciousness while reading it. By thought traps, I'm referring to that little black dot in the back of my mind; that whispers things like; "this is boring-- you're wasting your time."Each time the little black dot repeats itself; it grows a little bigger. Before long, my being stifled transforms into a vegetative trance, and the little black dot-- with its unceasing mantra-- becomes a whirling black hole; which sucks the wrinkles out of my brain until it's totally smooth.
When Reid made the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and explained how blogging offers pure freedom to experience writing based on things that inspire them to practice; he delivered a powerful alternative to giving the thought traps their way. I think that written language is a thing of the highest beauty. I also think about what a fortunate circumstance it is to have inherited English as my primary language. I suspect that the shocking erosion of skill with the use of written English in the U.S. is not caused by some dark illuminati conspiracy; one which aims to dumb everyone down for social control purposes. The infinitely more probable explanation, and infinitely less idiotic, is the individual's struggle against the little black dot in his or her head.
Causation and correlation being two different kettles of fish; there are indeed apparent societal factors which contribute to the volume of the wretched sounds of internal discouragement from writing practice. For one, it doesn't help to be arrogant; always boasting about the fact that one has learned the difference between your and you're; thus feeling just enough superiority over the peer network to justify the discontinuation of learning, and moving on to more fun and worthwhile things -- like drinking heavily and arguing about politics. If there really were such thing as grammar police on facebook; it would probably be the most corrupt department that the English speaking world has ever known.
Another cultural factor which further separates both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations from the art of reading and writing; is the fact that gadgets have taken such a dominant role in our lives. Our technology has risen to such a height that it is no longer a means of communication between people. It is an end in itself now. Our technology is our communication, and many if not most people these days feel lost without it. Without their devices people feel muted, disconnected and lacking; when in reality they haven't been as free and connected to the world around them in years. Great ideas and stories are swept away by the sheer speed of it all; as the ability to slowly absorb the stories and ideas is no longer thought of as useful. We now read things as fragments; comments; blurbs; headlines; tweets, and yelps. It's no wonder so many people leave most of their thinking up to the big boys on tv. It's a shame--space exploration could've been a really interesting part of our lives by now.
For as much as I wish things could go back to the way they were in the analog era, I know that it's over. I can see no better way of reclaiming at least some percentage of what has been lost than through blogging. In a way, blogging is a direct defiance of this high-tech hangover of ours. It utilizes the same technology not as an end, but as a means of facilitating literacy. Thoughts can once more be shared, and processed slowly by others. Reasoned responses take the place of "likes," and "lol"s, and if one wants to play the funny man who always has a wisecrack against a skilled blogger; then it would be a good idea for that person to bring their A- game. Personally, I would really love to be able to witness Immanuel Kant and David Hume argue about metaphysics in a blog; responding to each other in real time.
And so, while I was apprehensive at first about blogging; reading Alex Reid's essay has changed my mind. I'm even feeling excited about getting started on it. My primary goal for starting this blog is to stay current with it, and revisit it every day. I hope to be as excited about blogging my thoughts and ideas in a month from now as I am today. There are a number of things I would change if I could, but much of it can't be. Knowing this is to know that the connection between extrinsic motivators, and writing is not likely to be made -- at least not anytime soon. It will all be okay if I can grasp and hold on to the idea that the reward for this undertaking is not merely something for me to put in my pocket. The reward is to earn a skill to put into my mind, and with it, I will enhance my life to something of greater quality. BLOG!
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