I haven’t posted here in a while for three main reasons: 1) I got an iPhone and have to admit that I’m totally addicted to playing with all the little apps and following folks on Twitter, 2) I’ve been working steadily on the novel and haven’t had a lot to talk about other than word counts, 3) I’ve refused to address politics on this forum because it’s an area that can quickly turn people off.

This leaves me with little to talk about other than writing as a process. However, I’m not sure how interested anyone is in reading about my discovery of process. I mean, honestly, I’m not all that interested in reading other people’s processes anymore. I’m just interested in writing.

However, I don’t want this site to end up with three posts a year and all of them saying something to the effect of, sorry I haven’t posted in a while…

So what do I want to do? Well, honestly, I want to talk about the things I care about. I do want to talk politics on occasion. I do want to talk about fiction I’ve read and liked or not liked. I want to talk about movies, art, process, programming, and philosophy.

I want to say now that I think the best way to handle sensitive subjects is sensitively. That seems like a no brainer, but I look out in the world today and I see a lot of attacking going on. I see a lot of name calling. I feel like I live in an unruly playground with a group of Lord of the Flies children and all the teachers are on their smoke break, but will even occasionally show up outside and hand out sticks.

This conflicted world is not the world I want my daughter to live in. This doesn’t mean I want a unification of ideology. Normally, when anyone talks about everyone just getting along it’s on their terms. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about living off of a personal code of civility. I’m talking about embracing civility.

I’m not entirely sure what my total personal code of civility is yet. I know there are a few things I want to put in practice immediately on this blog.

-I will attack ideas and not people or groups of people. I’ve already removed a post where I did just that thing. I attacked an entire group of people based on one person’s opinion. I’m an adult, I should know better.

-I will pay attention and listen. Honestly, I think that’s the biggest issue in politics today. No one listens. Everyone is in such a hurry to be heard that they don’t take time to hear. Clarity is more important to me than winning an argument. As long as we understand where we have common ground and where we differ, we can work together.

-Writing has taught me an important lesson in life; most people want to do good. Sometimes they don’t realize what they’re doing is actually not that good, but I don’t think most people set out bad intentions to do harm. There are those who do, but I’m going to go with the assumption that if you have something to say, if you have an ideology or political stance, that you’ve taken that stance because you believe it will do more good than any other stance.

-I’ll try not to use strong words loosely. Calling someone a homophobic hate-monger because they have a different view on gay marriage doesn’t help the discussion. It’s generally not a good idea to start throwing rocks at people who come along with a different set of ideas, because honestly, people get scared of you. When people are scared of you they will either ignore you or they’ll find a way to get rid of you. I’m not advocating anyone become a carpet, I’m just saying that witch hunts and names on lists haven’t done us much good in the past–so let’s not go back down that road.

-If I say or do something on this blog that is offensive to you as an individual, please address me about the offense. Generally, I respond to my emails quickly. I view the world from the position of a white male who has grown up in the South. Not only that, but I’m a Texan. Now by Texas standards I’m pretty damn Liberal, but to you folks up North that won’t mean much. To you folks in Europe, well, I’m pretty much like a relic from the late 1800s. So if I say something stupid, feel free to point it out and I will address my errors. I look at that like a friendly stranger pointing out a dangling booger. I want to quickly rid myself of the embarrassment and move on appreciatively.

You know, I write about conflict all the time, I study conflict all the time, and I have to be immersed in it with the world we live in. I don’t necessarily want that on my blog. I want a peaceful place where thoughtful people can exchange ideas about things we love; like great food, great literature, movies, short stories, you name it.