I am a night owl; it’s how I’m wired. For most of my life, I have done much of my best thinking, creating, and problem solving well after the sun has gone down. While I greatly admire morning people, my light bulb shines brightest in the dark. What keeps me up at night ranges from life’s engaging interests to the problems that beset us.
It really is not all negative, by the way. I remember when a good friend who shares my love of music mentioned that John Coltrane once appeared on the Soupy Sales Show. When I expressed astonishment, he sent me the YouTube link. I made the mistake of opening it around 11:30 that night. Know how YouTube feeds you one related video after another? Next thing I knew, I was watching clips I never knew existed of Django Reinhardt at 3 AM.
There’s a reason why Blues songs are written about 3 o’clock in the morning.
When I’m not being captivated by geniuses playing music, though, I am likely to be contemplating some recent outrage and wondering “How did this become acceptable?” or “We can do better than this, can’t we?”
Welcome to my blog. Why “Other Aspects”?
I write because I must. There are things that need to be said; they include both celebrations of unheralded good and laments of us going off the rails as a people. I don’t anticipate running out of material. Here’s the thing, though: When thinking about what I’ve heard/seen/read that enthralls or infuriates me, I’m often left wondering about other, sometimes crucial, aspects. This is where I aim to go.
Since I’m inviting you to spend some of your precious time here, you deserve a sense of what to expect.
Inevitably, the topics will be those matters that matter enough to me to keep me up at night – public affairs, government, and policy; law; music, language, and cultural trends; and sports. The music usually will be the genres that have most enriched my life, Jazz and Blues. In such posts, the goal will be to share those riches.
On the issues, I’ll not pretend to have all the answers, but I promise to do what I can to get the questions right – always the most important step.
I am tired of people yelling at each other and calling each other names, rather than having discussions on the merits of issues. I am tired of slogans substituting for facts, analysis, and common sense. The seemingly rigid orthodoxies of both the Far Left and the Far Right have little appeal for me. I like to think I take one issue at a time and wherever the merits take me, that’s where I am. I believe civility and respect to be signs of strength, not weakness.
I can’t be the only one who longs for statesmanship and leadership, who thinks facts, fair process and first principles matter, and who finds the unacceptable to be, well, unacceptable.
We can do better, and we must. It’s up to us. This will not be a venture into “ah, shucks” naiveté. (Problems that seem intractable are difficult for a reason.) Yet, much of the bad stuff seems maddeningly unnecessary and potentially fixable. Meanwhile, the underappreciated good in life needs the attention it deserves.
I welcome feedback directed to KenBossong@gmail.com. I considered doing Comments on the blog, but am persuaded that moderating spam, flame-outs, and the like can quickly become quite an undertaking. I’d rather spend the finite time available writing things worth reading. All feedback will be read; items that provide particularly helpful insight or factual info will be mentioned in a separate section following a future posting. If attribution seems appropriate, I’ll seek permission.
To state the obvious, I’m to blame for all opinions I express. I write for no other person or entity. Again, welcome, and thank you for considering other aspects.
Ken Bossong
© 2019 Kenneth J. Bossong