What Ask A Punk isn't...

Greetings All. It is Thanksgiving week (here in the US anyway) and the start of "The Holiday Season" whatever that might mean to each of you. A final push through the last month of 2009 and what will generally be considered the end of the first decade of the new century (please: no email from calendar experts.) It has been a tough year here at Ask A Punk... We have definitely been cutting down on overhead, getting back to basics and all the other cliches that leap to mind, but then, it has been a tough year on nearly everyone for reasons both macro and micro.

AAP -
Who cares about what is or isn't punk? Have any of these people been paying attention? There is serious shit going wrong all around us and they're busy worrying about their band or their haircuts or whatever else the self-absorbed use to absorb themselves. Why even bother answering such inane questions? What is it your contributing by letting these people think their "problems" are worth all the time and effort to even address?

Why don't you talk about any real issues ? [....]
- unsigned.

Dear Unsigned -
I took the liberty of heavily editing the (huge) part of this letter that came after the writer asked his main question. The " [....] " represents approximately 700 words worth of text that spells out: 1) What the writer thought the "real issues" are. 2) Who the writer thought was to blame for those issues, and 3) Who the writer thought could fix those issues. ...Needless to say it was a very specific point-of-view. Nothing wrong with that, but it didn't really expand on the question he was asking. It was obviously also a bit of soapbox shouting that the writer probably just wanted to spread on the Internet... but I chose his question for this week's post anyway.

There are some who would call my large excision "censorship," but I would disagree for a couple of reasons: 1) Ask A Punk, like any website, is a platform for our own opinions and viewpoints, not a bulletin board where everyone is invited to let fly with their favorite rants and 2) Chances are very good that he didn't really care what my answer would be. He probably just stumbled upon this website and thought this might be a nice place to throw his opinion, like a digital pie in the face, at our regular readers, hoping to stir up some instant reactions. There is a lot of that going around these days.

And that gets to the real heart of his question. Why do we here at AAP sometimes address what are fairly trivial questions instead of weighing in on the big issues of our time? In response to that, I would ask my own question: What makes anyone think MY opinion on such "big issues" would matter?

I'll admit I have gone to some great lengths to avoid the "big issues" that fire up so many people, - especially here in cyberspace where everyone has an opinion and they're more than willing to shove it at you as loudly as they think is necessary. DO I have an opinion about the economic meltdown? the current war(s)? this presidential administration? the previous presidential administration? health care reform? etc. etc and freakin' etc ?? ....Yes I do. Some fairly strong opinions, as a matter of fact. I just don't think they have any place here on 'Ask A Punk.' I also know that, no matter how persuasive a writer I think I might be, I'm not going to change anyone's deeply held beliefs with anything I might write here... just as some unsigned & anonymous digital screed from some random guy is unlikely to radically alter my own opinions & beliefs.

That is the problem with much of the so-called "debate" we now engage in. It seems that no one is open-minded enough to see both sides of any of these issues... never mind actually admitting that most of these issues have more than just two sides. That would just be crazy talk! Complex problems are being offered up as either/or propositions and once people choose a side they're not going to budge, no matter what facts you serve up or how loudly you might yell.

Sure, I could use this website to start bloviating from one side or the other (it doesn't really matter which) and then wait for the hate mail and flaming comments to start pouring in. That would surely increase traffic to my site and perhaps even "raise my profile" as an opinionated blogger... but what is the point of that, really? As I said earlier, it isn't like that sort of writing is going to change anyone's opinions. All it will do is either preach to the choir or prod a flaming reaction from the opposition. That's all. No problems solved, just more noise.

I don't need that sort of hassle.

I've had enough of pretty much ALL groups and -isms and -ologies. Individually, people (with a few exceptions) are usually miraculous, unique & interesting beings, but as soon as they start forming into any sort of "group," that is when things start to get ugly. One-on-one it is almost laughably easy to find ways to connect to each other, but once the numbers swell it seems people have to sub-divide, pick sides and come out swinging.

I don't see much point in adding to all that noise, especially since my two cents won't make any difference or fundamentally change/improve any of these "big problems," but if I can answer specific questions that in some small way help individuals make better sense of their own personal predicaments, well THAT seems like a worthwhile way to spend my time...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.