It surprises even me, but I starting writing this blog just over 20 years ago - in May 2005.
There's no doubt I started with some pretty solid conservative views - a very early post notes that I quite liked John Howard's government. Truth be told, I don't really regret that view and still think he was nicely pragmatic - although he has tarnished his reputation by becoming a soft climate change denier. Old people, hey?...Ha ha.
More embarrassingly, I was solidly behind the Iraq war for quite a long time. Look, I found Christopher Hitchens pretty convincing, alright?; and didn't realise the extent to which the US would use intelligence subterfuge to get into the regime change game. I still feel the neocon project was at least well intentioned - based on a mistaken belief that democracy could be made to flourish far easier than was possible in a very fractious country in an awful neighbourhood. But sure, in retrospect, it was a scandalous mistake. I still find it hard to hate George W Bush though - in most respects he and his administration were relatively centrist and represented a Republican Party that could be reasoned with, unlike today's.
It even took a few years to decide to come out a firm climate change believer (I think it was 2008) with my early reason for conversion from interest in sceptic takes being the apparently dire risk of ocean acidification from high CO2 levels, regardless of atmospheric heat. That threat (from the oceans) only attracts intermittent attention in the media now, although I believe it remains real and serious. (The biggest worry being what happens to the calcification ability of the some of the some of the smallest organisms on which fish feed.) I think what has happened is that heatwaves and increased flooding from rainfall intensification have caught more attention as obvious signs of climate change.
On culture war issues, I was always skeptical of what might be called leftist takes on sexuality - and how much attention sexuality deserves. I have certainly modified my views on the treatment of gay relationships, although I still am not entirely comfortable with surrogacy or artificial insemination as a way of making gay families. I just always have had a somewhat "naturalist" view of having children - they should come naturally out of a relationship, and while delaying having them is fine, I always think it is a good thing for devoted straight couples to allow child bearing to happen. On the other hand, while I don't doubt gay couples can be fine parents, I don't care for making arrangements for other people who are not going to have a relationship with the child to be part of creating them for gay couples to raise. This makes me seem old fashioned, given surrogacy and IVF happen for straight couples all the time, but in fact, I don't really care for thar either! While I certainly don't think it is the duty of every woman to bear 10 children to their husband or such like, I still find I am intuitively drawn to the idea that people are happier if they follow a path at least somewhat closer to what "letting nature take its course" provides.
But the biggest story of the last 20 years has been the trashing of the American Right (and the poisonous knock on effects in other countries) by its march further to the Right, fed by a combination of greedy media, changes in media delivery (the internet and social media, of course) and money. In most respects, I have long said, it's not that I have moved much to the Left, but that the Right has moved further Right and (at least in America) seemingly lost the ability or will to self-correct.
A key feature of this is, of course, their position that climate change is not real, but a made up plan by Leftist's to impoverish the world. It has become extremely clear over the last 20 years (with the increasing science certainty) that this is an conspiracy belief held by people who think they are too clever for conspiracy beliefs.
It is truly dismaying that the Republican Party has become such an anti-science party, and effectively taken over by a cult that is interested in power and culture warring more than governing fairly for all. The one culture war issue on which they had some valid points - against the extremes of transgender ideology - affects so few people yet played a disproportionate role in getting a vindictive, narcissistic moron re-elected to President.
On religion overall, sadly, the last 20 years has seen the Catholic Church caught up in the same factionalisation as American politics, and its really terrible to know that in America they prefer Trump's fascism-lite to Democrat's flawed centrism on economics and other social issues. Abortion (and I guess, sexuality) are the issues that kind of ruin Catholicism in the US. But overall, I'm of the view that the Church is still in a process that has been going on for the last 150 years to reinvent itself in light of vastly increased knowledge as to the origins of mankind and the universe. How that is going to end up is still very unclear.
As anyone who has been reading here for the last few years would know, I've become a bit more interested in trying to understand Buddhism and Eastern philosophy generally, and still find all religions a fascinating topic. I've been reading comparative religion books since my 20's, and one day it will all fall into place. Possibly!
In terms of the internet overall, I still regret that blogging has largely died off, and that political and cultural polarisation has meant the end of several online forums that used to be fun. I think it (mildly) significant that I have outlasted several internet forums and identities who I used to spar with - although it's not like I've ever had, you know, a significant audience to influence. But yeah, it would seem Currency Lad has literally died - no one knows; Sinclair Davidson and Jason Soon have more or less retreated from public engagement; lefty figures like Mark Bahnisch now just occasionally appears on BlueSky instead of providing a forum for other culture war lefties. And New Catallaxy provides a slightly used venue for ageing Right wing cranks who can't be reasoned with on anything much. It feels unfortunate that no place for good humoured argument exists at all now: maybe that's just what naturally happens after a decade or two of realising it's next to impossible to get people to change opinion via any form of social media?
I never really worried about an audience to any great degree. I just think of this blog an open diary or journal, and if anyone likes dropping in, that's fine; but I don't feel any obligation to keep them entertained. In fact, I hesitate to advise people I know that I write a blog at all, because you really don't know what they will make of some views. I think there may be some interest in it by my kids when I'm gone - but they certainly don't care about it now. I'm not sure my wife even remembers it exists!
My rate of posting has slowed in the last year or two. Maybe that will continue, maybe it won't.
As always, I plan on continuing to just doodle away here, and use it for things I want to remind myself about in future, as well as trying to work out issues in my own mind.
We will see how far into the future it continues. Possibly, there's enough here for a convincing AI simulacrum of me to continue writing it into eternity. But that might depend on Google not changing its mind re a free service that has been rumoured for years to be stopped soon due to lack of interest. (I am tempted to now end with "For this reason, I am today seeking support for the Steve from Brisbane Into Eternity Foundation, and invite donations." Ha ha.)
Anyway, with any luck, real me will be around here for a while yet.
6 comments:
Congrats on maintaining the blog for so long. Most have gone into vlogging. I don't mind that but videos are slow and tend to lack content.
Anyone who looks back and isn't embarrassed by their views is either dishonest or ...
Gelett Burgess
"If in the last few years you haven't discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead."
Which highlights a problem I have with conservatism. It changes too slowly in a rapidly changing world. Some conservatives desperately need to believe that there is a huge silent majority waiting for the right party to emerge and lead them to the promised land. Wishful if not delusional thinking. The left certainly has some serious problems but has proven to be more adaptable to a changing world; albeit with some unfortunate excesses.
Climate change is a difficult issue. My response to deniers is that the science relies on thousands of data bits, hundreds of scientists, is modeled on supercomputers with multiple models being utilized, and you have a laptop and an excel spreadsheet ... .
The left became far too preoccupied with sexuality. Which is kind of ironic because the Abrahamic religions have the same problem. I remain concerned about gay couples raising children.
There are still some good internet forums about. I participate in forums ranging from biomed to paleoanthropology. Politics has become so polarised it is pointless to participate.
Hi John, I have nothing really to disagree with what you are saying.
I'm sure there are more embarrassing posts I have made that I can't think of now. Perhaps I should have mentioned my concern for a few years as to whether the LHC might create dangerous microblack holes - but given it took forever for the convincing reasons why it could be dismissed to be published, I don't feel I was being too gullible.
Jolly good show, old chap. Long may this good ship sail.
I concur heartily over the pity that is the fracturing and fragmenting of the fine medium of blogging. None of the mediums that have come after it - Twitter, Facebook - have been of any significance or much lasting interest at all.
The comparison I used to use for blogging back in the day was to the old days of pamphleteering, which medium could of course be associated with anything from the genteel, modish whiggism of Addison to factional fights and sectarian sniping and actual warfare. We're certainly seeing much of the latter at the moment with Twitter, etc being used as essentially ideological propaganda outlets in some of the nastier conflicts of the world at the moment (and also playing their part in the ongoing debacle that is US politics). I continue to hope that a more genteel medium for the age of the internet will reappear - blogging redux!
BTW, I do still see Mark Bahnisch pop up very occasionally on Facebook (though I have mostly disappeared from that medium) and Threads.
"And New Catallaxy provides a slightly used venue for ageing Right wing cranks who can't be reasoned with on anything much. "
I have the impression Dover Beach is trying to spice up the joint with some contrarian and controversial comments. It certainly is nothing like the Cat in the days of Soon. It's funny seeing them complain about the Liberal Party. Many of them don't seem to understand that the Liberal Party is oh so slowly adapting to the changing zeitgeist while they are increasingly just a bunch of grumpy old mostly men.
Social media hasn't' broadenend peoples' perspective it has siloed their cognition. I see the same problem on the left. It is very frustrating. I'm not a political enthusiast so it doesn't bother me that much.
It is possible to use social media to change opinion. However that requires a lot of discipline and emotional restraint. Is it worth it? Not really, the wins are very few and the ad homs are veyr large.
Currency Lad appears to have died. I certainly didn't share his views on many subjects but always respected his scholarship and eloquent prose.
Yes John, I have a look in at New Catallaxy every few days, and had the feeling that Dover was taking some slightly "out of character" positions of late. My impression is that he has stopped his "not cheering on, but cheering on" takes on Russia in the Ukraine war, but I'm not at all sure what caused that.
I haven't noticed old Lizzie there much lately. Is she just travelling again or trouble at home, I wonder.
hmm you supported the invasion of Iraq?
Congrats on the blog. It is a must read
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