Would'st That Mine Adversary Had Written a Book

I don't know why that little biblical nugget has rattled around in my head all these years.  Supposedly Job wishes his enemy had written a book, so he might use it to gain insight into his enemy's thinking- a cautionary tale for anyone wanting to publish.

With that in mind, why write a blog?

Why expose your thoughts (or ramblings) to public review and criticism?  Why put something irrevocably out in the public arena? 

I've wondered if it doesn't take a bit of hubris for a blogger to think that anyone might want to read his blog.  And why would someone voluntarily expose one's self (metaphorically, at least) to the public, voluntarily giving up another bit of privacy?

In my case, I suppose, I'm starting this blog as an excercise.  It's a good thing to keep in the habit of writing.  Too few today seem to value the ability to put thoughts to words.  Beyond that, I also hope that by applying tihs bit of public obligation, I'll be just that bit more motivated to:

1. Work towards actually doing things that might be blog-worthy.
2. Examine the supposition that we all have a private life that must be shielded from prying eyes.

For the first part, I do try to behave in the most productive, ethical way I know, so there's no shame in this man's game.  And while I (like you) can get lost in the minutiae of the day-to-day routine, I think there's a lot we all do that could be shared.  This blog will force me to be more aware of that.

For the second part, I've long thought we've gone way beyond the days where anyone had any real privacy.  Everything we do, online and offline is documented somewhere.  And perhaps that's a good thing.  Maybe we really need less privacy not more.

There have been a number of studies that show that people behave more callously, more inconsiderately, crueller, even, when they think they're anonymous.  A visit to any discussion board will show that pretty plainly.

Maybe the fact that we're slowly losing our privacy is a good thing.  Maybe we're returning to the little village where everyone behaved- sometimes because it was the right thing to do, but sometimes because everyone knew everyone else.  You couldn't get away with anything without someone knowing about it.

So here I go.  Out into that village of billions.  My first blog post for all to see.