Do bloggers dream of Selectric type? (Erin)

Now that Rod's back, I wanted to write one last post before rejoining "all of y'all" in the comment boxes.

Last week, after I'd just started guest blogging here, I had a funny dream. In it, a series of frustrating coincidences kept me from checking in with the blog for several hours, and I was getting worried. When I finally managed to get to the computer and log in, I saw that Rod had apparently noticed my prolonged and unexplained absence and had interrupted his vacation to file about twenty posts in succession; I stared at the screen in disbelief. I tried to read the posts, but there were two problems--the first involved the font, which looked like someone had taken an old IBM Selectric typewriter to my screen, and the second was that each post was so brilliantly, powerfully written that I was having trouble understanding even the vocabulary.

When I woke up, it took a minute for me to realize I'd been dreaming. Even then, I had to go check the blog to make sure everything was all right--which it was, of course.

Thinking about the dream later, I realized what my subconscious was telling me. It's not something I don't realize consciously, but I think my brain took advantage of the sleep state to hammer the lesson home.

This blog represents an incredible gift, not only of Rod's talents as a writer and an observer of life, but even more fundamentally, of his time. And before the usual suspects--and you know who you are--start muttering about compensation, let me assure you that the kind of time and effort Rod pours out here so generously goes way beyond questions of remuneration. Where else on the Internet are there professional bloggers so willing to roll up their sleeves, dive into the comment boxes, hand out the beer and pizza and not only keep things civil, but also keep them interesting and challenging? Many professional writers who also blog don't even allow comments on their sites, but Rod not only allows them--he makes sure that this blog remains the kind of place where traditional Catholics and devout pagans and committed atheists, where die-hard Republicans and die-harder Democrats, where organic produce buyers and junk food junkies can all converse together about the things that interest us all. We may never find some perfect level of agreement with each other, but I think we may have found something even more valuable--respect for each other, though our lives and ideas may never be even remotely similar.

And that's a rare thing.

We all know of other blogs that don't produce this effect, where anyone who disagrees with the magisterial authority of the Republican or Democrat in charge of the site is attacked by a pack of hyenas who will laugh the offender off of the page, where the blog author or authors want only to surround themselves with an echo chamber of agreement, and use scorn as their shield to protect themselves from the detonation of an idea that challenges their way of looking at the world. Such, alas, is more of a reflection of the world of political discourse than this Crunchy Con blog, because the cheap satisfaction many bloggers get from relentlessly labeling others as morons and idiots is more important to them than a quest for consensus, or the uncommon goal of finding some common ground--just as it is in the real world, where the scoring of political points often takes precedence over any real compromise. I don't think that's how it has to be, or how it should be.

And I know that most of you will agree with me on this--because why else would you come in such amazing numbers, to read, comment, contribute, discuss and participate? I know I've learned from many of you, and am still learning. We have a lot to teach each other, but without the time, attention, energy, talents, and care Rod gives to this site, most of us would probably have never "met."

And that would be a shame, because I enjoy your company, whether or not we always--or even ever--agree.

So I want to thank Rod for giving me the opportunity to guest blog here again. I'm both humbled and uplifted by his willingness to entrust this blog to me in his absence, and can't thank him enough for the chance to write and engage in conversations with all of you. It really is a privilege, and one I enjoy more than I can put into words.

See you back in the comments!