It is sobering to realize that even after all this time throwing my thoughts out into the void, I still don’t know how to write. I am particularly dissatisfied with my entries from the previous two days. I had forgotten about the principle in this marvelous quote: “As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naive and simple-hearted than we suppose. And we ourselves are, too.” — The Brothers Karamazov. In an attempt to add more pizzazz, I made a trade-off in analysis. It was a conscious trade-off, especially yesterday. I made the choice to substitute snark for judgment. In the entry from the day before yesterday, I contemplated writing more, but decided to stop. I chose to make bold (literally) pronouncements, rather than reasoned discourse. In doing so, I mischaracterized the situations and it happened intentionally. Today, I realize I made the wrong decisions.

This medium — the weblog — infuriates me. Every issue winks in and out of existence at a frightening pace. It calls for instant analysis written in a hasty passion, which will almost inevitably result in something less than civilized discourse. Truth is often a victim. I struggle between my personal pull towards cold reason and the medium’s pull towards passion.

Popularity seems to attach itself to the pundits who are most like demagogues. They ensnare their audience via emotional manipulation. I’m sure that many pundits are reasonable individuals, but stick a TV or microphone in front of them and they become blithering near-idiots. I’ve seen Anne Coulter on TV (never read any of her work). She was doing her best to come up with snappy one-liners that would infuriate liberals and make certain conservatives laugh. Frankly, her pure disregard for reason disgusted me.

However, I cannot ascribe all of my disgusting habits to wanting to be popular. It’s the medium. I recently took a public speaking class. An interesting thing happened the last day: We were allowed to give a speech on any topic for extra credit. There was no way this speech could harm us. I did my damnedest to try to extemporaneously speak about the national anthem, but I was losing the audience. Finally, I said to my audience that I was losing them, but this speech cannot hurt me, so I will just say whatever I want. I wanted them to start paying attention, so my mind instantly grabbed for the vilest thing I could come up with, “Singing the national anthem in Spanish is evil.” This kind of bold pronouncement is far from my point of view, but it was easy to say, and easier still to expound with equally vile statements. Luckily, they laughed and I laughed at myself too because what I was saying was just ridiculous. I’m not a pundit; I just play one on TV. Still, it was electrifying what I felt. It would be quite easy for me to pretend I’m serious, and it would get people’s attention. (Like perhaps Anne Coulter.)

What scares me the most is that if I chose to go down this path, I’m sure I would have quite the natural talent. Temptation is ever present. Considering my aspirations for the future, I suppose that we should all count ourselves lucky that this kind of discourse repulses me on a very visceral level. I do have a conscience, thank you very much. Furthermore, I am starting to believe that demagoguery is perhaps the most dangerous thing to democracy and liberty.

So, what should I do? This medium’s flaws actually can be turned into strengths. Instant response need not be bold declaration. I will force myself to be more inquisitive. Questions are perfectly legitimate when that’s what the situation warrants. Moreover, the medium allows my opinions to be more malleable. It’s okay to recant earlier writing and revise my opinions. If I take a more exploratory, rather than explanatory, mode, I don’t have to put up with the burden of always being right on every issue, even with imperfect information. It’s also useful to post introspective entries like this one.

But what of pizzazz? Well, if you can’t handle reason, then I can’t handle you reading me. The internet’s a big place and I believe there’s a place for reasoned discourse. I’ll further develop this issue of pizzazz in an entry tomorrow on Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke.

Oh, wait, one more thing: Stop watching cable news so often.