"Letter to the editor" ...the editor being me.

[shirenomad]

I've been reading your live journal--more specifically your links to friends pages, over the past couple days, and I recently had an idea. I would like, with your permission, to start a weekly(?) political column using your blog as a springboard. This would entail me writing a column once a week or so explaining a particular conservative position, and then responding to their objections throughout the week (possibly in a few big chunks).

[snip]

Anyway, I perfectly understand if you think this will be too divisive or inflammatory for the content of your site. Let me know what you think.

-----

Without giving this this guy's name just yet, know that I do know him and trust him, and if he ever starts getting what I judge as "inflammatory", I will stop letting him post here. Still, I'm hesitant to do this at all until I at least know how you'll take seeing conservative essays on your Friends List every week. I've also considered giving him an LJ invite code and letting him go nuts there, though part of the reason he wanted to use my journal is to have a pre-existing audience. Either way, it's a way for the conservatives around here to get something topical... and the liberals to try and comprehend the line of reasoning that would lead an otherwise perfectly intelligent individual to vote for Dubya.

It could also be a way to have everyone kick me off their friends list. So this is what LJ made polls for:

[Poll #380196]

[EDIT: In case it helps your decision, this will be from the same guy who wrote this piece. They won't all be on that subject, of course, but you can expect much the same writing style and so forth.]

Comments

[cassaclyzm.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested in reading this if you wind up going through with it (the reason I said "but only if you post it here" is because I have the attention span of a goldfish, and will probably forget about it otherwise. *laughs*) My friends list is scarily left (a lot of American GLBTetc folks, go figure), but even though I tend to lean that way I'm interested in what's going on on the other side of the fence, because (unlike a large portion of my friends list, I'm afraid) I refuse to believe that 50% of America is either completely stupid and/or completely duped by "propaganda". (See, I like Michael Moore, but I watch his documentaries with a salt-shaker in hand, if you know what I mean.) I'm a fence-sitter at heart, what can I say.

[pantswarrior]

...You do know that LJ hasn't used invite codes for a year now, right? Anyone can get an account just by going to the main page and creating an account.

[shirenomad]

What? But I was saving them to sell on eBay!

[surgo.livejournal.com]

Oops, wrong answer for the first part of the poll. But you can judge what I think by the second part.

I find it absolutely hilarious (and dumbfounding at the same time) that he thinks we all get our information from the teats of Michael Moore and Al Franken.

[surgo.livejournal.com]

But then again, he never read anything I wrote.

[falgorn.livejournal.com]

On one hand, I -try- to stay open to others points of view even when they clash with my own, but judging from his comments I'm betting this is more nutjob bush-worship.

And I see enough of that every day in the local papers.

[shadeykins.livejournal.com]

Your friends are developing their worldview on facts. I don't know enough one way or the other to say the same about this fellow.


At any rate, I wouldn't mind listening to this guy, it would be interesting to hear. No one has been able to give me a convincing/fact based argument as to why Bush was worth keeping as a President as of yet.

[pokeytax.livejournal.com]

Actually, my vote is probably a lie, I read absolutely everything on my friends list. And, in lieu of the voted reasoning, here is mine:

I learned to read doing Trans-O-Grams in the back of National Review, and for much of my life my values were the same as yours, which apparently is not painfully obvious from my posts. I have read far more conservative thought than liberal, Sowell and von Mises and WFB, I just don't agree anymore. *snip snotty, several-times-retyped response to friend's snotty assumption about my exposure to alternative viewpoints, I promise to stop being a smartass from here on.* Your friend and I can agree Michael Moore sucks though.

I do enjoy your journal and appreciate your concerns even though I often find your views, which were my views, offensive and distasteful (hah, I probably wouldn't take that well! but it's honest truth, both parts.) I understand why you believe the things you do and value the things you value, because I did too, and I have empathy for the position of a conservative in a largely liberal online community, because I was too. I guess what I mean to say is that your journal is interesting to me because it's written by you, someone I know; there are plenty of places to find amateur conservative essays if that were what I was after.

But, hee, it's your journal, and I shan't defriend you whatever you decide.

This is off topic...

[beyondfake-0.livejournal.com]

*gnaws on your icon* It makes me laugh. :3

[pretzelcoatl.livejournal.com]

I said I would read, partly because I'm interested and partly out of politeness, but I guess I don't really see why he wants to do so in your journal and not his own. My opinions will not be swayed one way or another (despite how I am a liberal, my views are rarely affected by Moore's, Franken's, or Chomsky's), but... well, it IS your journal. So it's ultimately up to you, even though I can't say I'll always be interested in hearing it.

Doing so will not affect your being or not being on my Friends List, though, just to let you know.

[shadeykins.livejournal.com]

Also, to me it sounds like... I dunno. You agree with this guy, and want to present your own arguments through him, instead of writing them yourself. Otherwise why not let him just make his own journal? You want to present his arguments to us, specifically. Which is fine, but I dont think this whole poll thing is really necessary if that's what you want to do. :)

As said, it's your journal and it's up to you what to post. I certainly wouldn't defriend you for speaking your mind or posting what you want, and I don't think most/any of your friends would either.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, snotty conservative potential columnist here,

First, since the sentiment seems to be universal, I'm sorry for any offense given about the Michael Moore post. I by no means meant to imply either "liberal friend of CMZ=Michael Moore" or "liberal friend of CMZ=stupid." Certainly, Wattsu, (http://www.livejournal.com/users/wattsu/2004/11/03/) for example, had a fairly rational response to the entire issue. However, I do recall reading several insanely-pessimistic-to-the-point-of-being-suicidal-posts on his friends list re: election results to feel that the comment was justified.

(Actually, re-reviewing the posts, it seems like a majority of the suicidal-crazy responses were either from various users on the uci channel, or on replies to posts of people on the CMZ's friends list rather than people on the list themselves. So perhaps the statement was overkill to begin with.)

That being said, I still think that a change for mutual engagement would be useful. As I also mentioned in my email, I've had far too little opportunity to talk with those of a liberal persuasion since graduation. Amazing how leaving college for a fairly conservative suburb will do that to you.

Anyway, Chris, I'd wait for more posts before deciding anything. And since you still haven't chosen to divulge my name (nice vote of confidence, btw), perhaps you could give them a sample of my previous writing as an example. The one on your journal, despite being a bit long, would work. Or you could give just them the Hillsdale essay, but that might give them too much ammunition. :)

[cassaclyzm.livejournal.com]

Ahh. I figured it was you. ;-)

Hi, snotty conservative potential columnist here,

*snorting my coffee* I officially rather like you.

[zarchery.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think he should get his own LJ and I'll befriend that. There's no need for proxies here.