One Year Anniversary

I know I said I wasn’t going to write on here for a while. But how could I resist? The Modernist Café turns one year old this week and that means its time to celebrate! Bring out the shot glasses and the rubbers!

Let me just say I can’t believe I’ve continued operating this site for a year now. I’m usually quite bad with responsibilities and obligations but I think I’ve done a fairly good job producing articles consistently. I didn’t write anything in January and February of 2005, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

However, what’s more interesting is how my writing has evolved, particularly my subject material. I definitely focused more on political and societal issues in the beginning whereas I’m focusing more on individual and spiritual matters now. The beginning was characterized by specific events while the recent writing has been abstract and philosophical.

The reason why I’m pointing this out is because I think it’s relevant to the issues we’ve been talking about lately about history, identity and alternate realities. Just because I’ve changed focus, it doesn’t mean that the earlier stuff can just be forgotten. It can be tucked away neatly into memory, yes. But completely forgotten and disregarded? Impossible. Because it’s the moments like these, during milestones, that the whole story comes into the proper perspective. I may tell somebody “come check out The Modernist Café where philosophical and theological issues are discussed” because that’s what is overwhelmingly being written about now. But let’s say someone asked me to stand up in front of a classroom and give a lecture about The Modernist Café (a very weird concept), I would need to start with the beginning and show the progression. Because that’s the whole story of The Modernist Café. Anything less would be incomplete and inaccurate.

However, this is not to say that when I introduce people to this site I tell them to read it from start to finish. It’s not necessary because the earlier stuff doesn’t affect what I write now. It might be relevant to look at to see what my prior positions and beliefs were, and might even be helpful in understanding my current positions, but ultimately they have no other influence in what I write. We, as people, are like The Modernist Café.

In my very first post I claimed that I would use this blog specifically to write about politics. Do I still do that? Obviously not. Will I write a political article in the future? Perhaps. The point is that the topic doesn’t really matter. The topics and the focus of our lives are always changing. It’s the essence that matters and to that extent I believe I have kept my word. In the first post I claim that “blogging can be useful if it’s informative and has some other value beyond simply learning about the blogger.” This was the only principle I attempted to keep constant, (which can only be determined by looking at past blogs and is another reason why remembering the past is important – to determine trends and patterns). And to that extent I think I’ve remained faithful.

You see, that’s why I named it The Modernist CAFÉ to begin with. It’s not called the Modernist Pulpit. Or the Modernists Bullhorn. I chose Café because I wanted this to be a forum. Even if I talk about myself a little bit here and there, my point has always been to throw a piece of meat out there and have the dogs rip it apart (you can pick what kind of dog you want to be). If I give my insight, that’s because I’m the author and I have something to say about it. But I never ever believe that I am authoritative. That I am the only one with the answer. I give my opinion because I like to, not because I want to convert you. We all have a brain that interprets information and forms perceptions, and I’m fascinated by different responses. I want people to think, more than anything else. And I want to hear that opinion.

With that said, let me ask all of you who come to this site to do me the favor of providing your opinion. Even if it’s just a line or two. Some of you do, and very consistently, and it is for those people that this site is dedicated to. But believe it or not, I know I have other readers who come here consistently and I know who you are and you never write any comments. Why is that? All of you are wise. All of you have unique information, expereinces, and perceptions that make your opinions valuable to me. You don’t need to be a scholar on any of the issues I write about to give your opinion. So if you read something that you find interesting and have anything to say about it at all, do me and everyone else a favor and share it.

So you can start right now by leaving a comment answering these questions:
1. How long have you been coming to The Modernist Café?
2. What article do you like the most?
3. What picture do you like the most?
4. What topics/issues would you like to see discussed in the future?
5. If you could be a dog, what kind of dog would you be?
6. Is there a God?
7. Do you love me?
8. Describe yourself in two words.

Cheers!