the cheese stands alone

Passing By

I don't do political. I do funny and bizarre and quizzes. I do silly and mundane and links.
I don't do controversy.

It's not because I don't like a good dust-up. I just don't like it on my turf where I have to clean up later.
And here's one of the biggest reasons I don't try to stretch my potential and get on the Cause Du Jour gymnastics team.... a week from now, who will even remember it all, let alone care?

Real life has a way of sucking up our free time that we don't sacrifice on the altar of blogging. A person could tell you what they did on Halloween, or where they went on Valentine's Day, or where they were when Kennedy was shot. (I still have grass stains.) But when Blogger X went toe-to-toe with Blogger Y over Hot Issue Z? Who? When? Huh? And are there any more Cheetos?

Latest big rattle and hum is concerning the recent horrific earthquake in Iran. Some bloggers have stated, if I follow all this correctly, that they will not be supporting any aid to the devastated victims on the grounds that they are Jewish and Iran is violently anti-Semitic. This catapulted everyone to one side of the fence or another. Michele at A Small Victory took issue, as did Ilyka Damen. Yourish restated her side of things, as did the Amish. Over at Dog Snot Diaries, Geoffrey has his own debate raging in the comments over a similar disagreement.

And in a week, no one will know what the hell you're talking about if you bring it up in bloggy conversation.

You didn't come here for insightful opinions or valiant against-the-tide revelations. You came here because sometimes the Cheese is a funny chick. So when I break out the cheesebox and climb up on it, like this, it's a novelty. That in itself is kind of funny, like when a dog wears a beret and walks on its hind legs.
So let me say my five cents worth (adjusted for inflation) and let it go.

I think anything based on religion is stupid. Note, please, I did not say belief. Believe whatever you want... God, Yahweh, Allah, Buddha, little green fairies.... But once a belief is franchised into a religion it takes on a life of its own, and rarely a benign one.
Shit happens, people. Earthquakes happen. Mudslide happen. Fires happen. As far back as history goes, someone somewhere got the pointy end of the stick. Everyone at some point has been persecuted, picked on, done wrong. Doesn't make it right, not by a long shot. But the past doesn't change just because you feel like someone crapped in your Cheerios.
You want to base your entire life on that? You want to pick and choose who you're going to be human to and who you're going to spit on by something that went on before you were born? That's entirely between you and your religion. Go to it.

But when it turns you into an "ist" (feminist, religionist, fascist, reparationist, historical victimist, et al), don't expect much support from this side of the fence.

As usual, I am speaking completely for myself. I know you all have your own opinions and your own moral compasses. I support you in that. I'm glad you're an individual, or at least I hope you are because those pod people creep me out. This is me, the Cheese, getting it off my chest. I don't throw my beliefs out there lightly, and I don't speak up often when a blogger or three makes me gag.
I just don't link to them.
Linking, to me, is an endorsement. It says this person made me laugh/cry/think in a good way. People I dislike for one reason or another I will never link to. Sort of the old saw about being judged by the company you keep.

This post has gone all over the place, hasn't it? Have I made any valid points or even a cohesive argument? Probably not. I kinda doubt many of you have stuck with me this far down the page, and I can't blame you one whit.
Can I sum up? Let's see......

Everything, every single thing we do, say, think, write... it's transitory. Shakespeare's still hanging in there. So are Grimm's Fairy Tales. Mozart is around, as is Michaelangelo. There will come a time when they aren't Well-Known Names. I imagine the Dead Sea scrolls were a hot commodity when they were written. But are they water-cooler material? Not any more.
So, if you want to get all involved in the latest scandalous online behavior, by all means get involved. It's your 15 kilobytes of fame.
But don't think it's forever.

Paris who?

Posted by LeeAnn at December 30, 2003 06:12 AM