Wannabe aficionado and connoisseur of everything.
I believe that enlightenment is best achieved when we engage and explore alternative points of view, that we should form opinions and convictions empirically, and that we should tender our perspectives without apology. They are merely what we believe to be true at a given point in time and subject to change. That’s how it works when we continue to grow.
Early in 2016, as 45’s political shenanigans were unfolding, long-dormant emotions and sensibilities awakened in me. I felt compelled to engage, and though I was an adult, I was reluctant to voice my opinions because I feared that, if pressed, I couldn’t back them up, and I didn’t want to assert my ignorance.
First, I needed to figure out where my give-a-shit factor was on stuff. I found I have a broad and abiding regard for embracing diversity and inclusion, the import of the phrase “you do you”, a practical appreciation for the premise “I’m Ok, You’re Ok”, and the precepts “Do No Harm” and “Leave No Trace”. Those revelations gave me a basis on which to form opinions and ultimately, convictions.
Writing about my stuff forced me to scrutinize it and gain a better understanding of it. With my rumination complete and filtering mechanisms like ethics, morality, and legality considered, I had informed opinions, some actual convictions, and I felt ready to be part of the greater discussion.
My poems are profoundly personal expressions and ask only to be perceived without bias or critique. I have no illusions about my significance or the impact of my work. Nor do I apologize for its tenor, or fret over how others might judge it, or me for it. To do otherwise would inhibit free expression, and a reticent self-conscious poet is doomed to an uncreative and unproductive melancholy.
I don’t pigeon-hole myself as Democrat, Liberal, Republican, or Conservative, but merely a free-thinking 60s-era poet who realizes that health is fundamental to both life and the pursuit of happiness, that liberty should be color-blind, and that big business can never be trusted to think beyond their next quarter's earnings report to put their country's best interest ahead of their bottom line.
Naively, I hope my writing fosters awareness in the innocent, enlightenment for the ignorant, and clarity of conscience in the culpable.
Ridge
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Although my body hath betrayed, my psychē staged a coup as I began to engage and explore alternative points of view
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Whether or not the ends justify the means, The means expose our true nature, The means matter more than the ends, for in the end, if you believe in such things, it is written that we are judged by the means.
But, perchance, if the ends do justify the means, Who then justifies the ends? And are the ends then factored with the means, or are we judged solely by the ends?
Either way, assume the mic is always hot.
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Fostering Awareness In The Innocent, Enlightenment For The Ignorant, Clarity of Conscience In The Culpable.
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Engage and explore alternative points of view Form opinions and convictions empirically Tender perspectives without apology
