Wednesday

3 More Reasons to Kiss "Dating" Goodbye

It's the morning after...after our local elections, that is. I work at avoiding overt references to politics here--well everywhere mostly--because it rarely serves my purpose. And probably like you, I can't stand to follow all the news of the day for its own sake. But as an occasional player in the game of ideas, I value the opportunity it presents for me to think about what I think and how I got there (and to pay attention to current trends in an effort to avoid embarrassing my kids and grand kids).

In fact, the 1990's (speaking of current...) Sister Act anthem instructs:
"If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere, 
you better wake up and pay attention..."  

So, for instance, a while back the Washington Post published a guest piece by someone who described himself as liberal, writing on why a certain round of tax changes didn't look as attractive as many of his colleagues at first thought. Seems that when it was discovered who was holding the football at the bottom of the pile, the other team had it. Alas, the middle class that the changes were supposed to protect, (that's apparently both of us...) is really the loser. I wouldn't know that if I wasn't paying attention...not that that makes me somebody or gets me anywhere at all...!

It Keeps It Friendly
Jeff Goinswho is also concerned with being somebody, getting somewhere and paying attention, says in his post 25 Writing Tips for Beginning Bloggers, that he omits the date from blog posts, that it's a plus..

"Write timeless material," he says, "that does not get dismissed as irrelevant out of the chute."

This is an epiphany for me for this reason: One of the advantages of giving up dating is that I can honestly explore some controversial subject without sparking a round of shots regarding a current event, activity that equals a pointless gunfight resulting in a smokescreen that obscures real issues. And that leaves dead bodies strewn about the battlefield where the root cause of the conflict remains conveniently undisturbed. (And no I'm not referring necessarily to gun laws...though one might reasonably infer such a relationship...) It's just that I'm no good as a lightning rod for opposing points of view, given my bevy of friendships on the political continuum.

It Doesn't Grow Old
My thoughts tend more toward the general underpinnings of things than the mechanisms and tangible outcomes of their implementation. And really, that's good, because details are not my forte. For example, you do NOT want me crunching the numbers necessary to balance anyone's budget--though I can argue all day for the importance of having one. I prefer putting my energies into something more philosophical than the last round of line-item veto threats, not simply reacting to shrapnel that flies when an issue surfaces revealing a foundational disagreement, a systemic divergence.

It Builds Long-Term Relationships
Losing dates has a residual effect: It forces me to think about whether what I contribute might be anywhere near as relevant in May as I believed it might be in, say, November.
And that causes yet another pleasant ripple in the pond: it requires that I stay on substantial topics and focused on the theme I've chosen, which is always harder than it seems. 

There you have it. That's why I love the idea of dateless posts. I can comment on the Superbowl in August or canning apricots in December or the ineptness of Congress. (Wait. That's timeless anyway...)
Now, along with being clueless (as occasionally alleged), I am opting for dateless in an effort to become timeless.


What's your view on "dating"?

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