Why I'm Out of 2 Sense
Apr. 18th, 2004 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jakebePeople who listen to 2 Sense have known for about a month now that I'm leaving the show. Without knowing my reasons, the response has been really tremendous. I'm very grateful to everyone who has written in, wishing me well, cursing my name and letting me know that I'll be missed. It's a very odd feeling to have so many people say that I was important to the dynamic of the show; in my opinion, it really won't be hard to find someone who will disagree a
lot with someone as opinionated as 2. :)
At any rate, thank you all very much for letting us establish a dialogue with you over these past nine months. It's been a pretty illuminating ride.
I thought I would take this opportunity to give my reasons for leaving the show. I'm not really sure I can articulate them exactly as I had them planned out in my head, but I'll go ahead and give it a try. It's very difficult, I've found, to communicate personal ideas to other people understandably without going into encyclopedic detail of your thought process. We don't really have time for that, and I don't want to talk that much any more than you want to listen. I'll try my best to be concise but clear.
We are assaulted with all of our senses every day with all kinds of information that our brain does its very best to make sense of. More than that, the way our world moves demands that we are constantly listening and watching to make any sense of what's been going on. I've felt that this has been especially true these last few years; our technology has been progressing at an accelerated rate, wars are started, fought and ended in months instead of years, and we can scarcely remember the promises our politicians make at the beginning of their campaigns. Everything's moving so fast, and the stakes are rising so high, it's absolutely crucial that we pay attention to what those who lead us are doing.
In the course of all of this activity, we all have the desire to put up our opinions and perspectives, and this is a completely natural thing to do. However, I've found that the more you talk, the less you listen, and the less you listen the less you know. Larry King puts it best: "I have never learned anything by speaking." He also said that "Bringing Down The House" was the funniest movie ever, so you can't put *too* much stock in what he's saying. :P It's all right to be vocal about how life is affecting you, but there comes a point where the noise you make just clutters things too much and all you're hearing is your own reverb. It gets to be impossible to get a clear head on things.
Basically, I've felt that I've spoken enough, at least in this fashion. I'm not saying "2 Sense" is nothing but a bunch of noise; it's quite useful in its way. But I'm wary of the danger of speaking more than I understand, and I'd rather not be put in the position of forming an opinion on something I know absolutely nothing about. It's more important for me to understand something than to judge it.
I still plan to be involved with the show in some capacity, whether it's writing letters, fact-checking, posting on the forums and what have you. It's my hope that what's being said on the show will eventually become a catalyst for action on the parts of furs.
This brings me to my next point: being active. 2 Sense is a good way to get angry about what's going on in the world today, because really, it's fucked. :) It's right to bitch about what's going down, but with every right there's a responsibility, and ours is to at least make the attempt to set things straight when they need to be. Don't like the way Bush is handling the country? Then register to vote and do so in the upcoming elections; encourage your friends to do the same. Think Bush is *right*? Do the same. Tired of frivolous lawsuits, assinine/stupid behavior, people being dicks to one another? There's something each and every one of us can do to change that. Bitching only goes so far; it feels good, it's cathartic, sure, but the problem is still going to be there long after you've gotten rid of the vocal polyps.
Sorry to get on that particular soapbox. Anyway, as for what I plan to be doing after this...I'd really like to hone any possible storytelling skills I have, and that includes a lot of writing. In a lot of ways, this little essay was practice. I'll be trying to put up as much as possible in my LiveJournal in the coming weeks, so watch out for that. *hint hint*
Be cool everybody. :)
lot with someone as opinionated as 2. :)
At any rate, thank you all very much for letting us establish a dialogue with you over these past nine months. It's been a pretty illuminating ride.
I thought I would take this opportunity to give my reasons for leaving the show. I'm not really sure I can articulate them exactly as I had them planned out in my head, but I'll go ahead and give it a try. It's very difficult, I've found, to communicate personal ideas to other people understandably without going into encyclopedic detail of your thought process. We don't really have time for that, and I don't want to talk that much any more than you want to listen. I'll try my best to be concise but clear.
We are assaulted with all of our senses every day with all kinds of information that our brain does its very best to make sense of. More than that, the way our world moves demands that we are constantly listening and watching to make any sense of what's been going on. I've felt that this has been especially true these last few years; our technology has been progressing at an accelerated rate, wars are started, fought and ended in months instead of years, and we can scarcely remember the promises our politicians make at the beginning of their campaigns. Everything's moving so fast, and the stakes are rising so high, it's absolutely crucial that we pay attention to what those who lead us are doing.
In the course of all of this activity, we all have the desire to put up our opinions and perspectives, and this is a completely natural thing to do. However, I've found that the more you talk, the less you listen, and the less you listen the less you know. Larry King puts it best: "I have never learned anything by speaking." He also said that "Bringing Down The House" was the funniest movie ever, so you can't put *too* much stock in what he's saying. :P It's all right to be vocal about how life is affecting you, but there comes a point where the noise you make just clutters things too much and all you're hearing is your own reverb. It gets to be impossible to get a clear head on things.
Basically, I've felt that I've spoken enough, at least in this fashion. I'm not saying "2 Sense" is nothing but a bunch of noise; it's quite useful in its way. But I'm wary of the danger of speaking more than I understand, and I'd rather not be put in the position of forming an opinion on something I know absolutely nothing about. It's more important for me to understand something than to judge it.
I still plan to be involved with the show in some capacity, whether it's writing letters, fact-checking, posting on the forums and what have you. It's my hope that what's being said on the show will eventually become a catalyst for action on the parts of furs.
This brings me to my next point: being active. 2 Sense is a good way to get angry about what's going on in the world today, because really, it's fucked. :) It's right to bitch about what's going down, but with every right there's a responsibility, and ours is to at least make the attempt to set things straight when they need to be. Don't like the way Bush is handling the country? Then register to vote and do so in the upcoming elections; encourage your friends to do the same. Think Bush is *right*? Do the same. Tired of frivolous lawsuits, assinine/stupid behavior, people being dicks to one another? There's something each and every one of us can do to change that. Bitching only goes so far; it feels good, it's cathartic, sure, but the problem is still going to be there long after you've gotten rid of the vocal polyps.
Sorry to get on that particular soapbox. Anyway, as for what I plan to be doing after this...I'd really like to hone any possible storytelling skills I have, and that includes a lot of writing. In a lot of ways, this little essay was practice. I'll be trying to put up as much as possible in my LiveJournal in the coming weeks, so watch out for that. *hint hint*
Be cool everybody. :)
