Oh and yet again...

Okay, okay, okay.... So perhaps the last time wasn't so different after all.  One post and then a substantial gap to something else is becoming a bit of a pattern I have to admit.  But not this time... No THIS time will, in fact, be different.  I am taking of the challenge of posting for 31 straight days.  This time I will make it (although, truth be told, I believe I may have taken up the same challenge the previous "this time" so be forewarned... and yet hope springs eternal.)

In order to accomplish my 31 day goal I am going to remove the pressure of having to come up with my own topics (most of the time at least) and will allow for a bit of randomness to creep into the process.  I have signed up for the "My 500 Words" challenge which takes on folks like myself and throws down the proverbial gauntlet to write something (anything really) everyday with the only guideline that it must be a minimum of 500 words (thus the clever name.)  As part of the support they provide is daily writing prompts to help keep the momentum going. I have not seen said prompts yet but I'm sure they will be remarkably clever.

Additional motivation for this exercise is that my young cousin Joshua, just completed and published his first book and had posted on Facebook that he was taking up the 31 day writing challenge so what could I do but join in as well.  I mean he wrote a book for goodness sakes... I had wrote a blog post better part of 4 years ago.  It is sort of the same so what the heck... Actually I do have to say that I think it is remarkable that he has published a book (and already has a plan for the sequels and all.)  I give him tremendous credit.  Joshua... you're my hero, seriously!

Finally, for an additional push, it seems that we are living in rather serious times combined with an incredible lack of serious discussion.  I have long believed that the real threat to democratic systems and institutions is the rise of populism.  We have always walked a very fine line between the notion that "anyone" can and should be a leader in our government and the reality that the world is a complex place that requires deep insights and, dare I say, expertise.  While our national election is taking down the rabbet hole of what happens when we ignore that basic dichotomy, the effects can already been seen at the state levels where vague policy notions and soundbite dogma have been transformed into policy and law in quite a number of states (not the least of which my own North Carolina.)  Now I am not going to pretend not to be a left of center Democrat whose isn't more than a little downtrodden on the current state of my party but I feel there is a much more profound issue in the level of our political discourse.  We are not debating competing ideas anymore as much as we engaged in character assassination of our opponents and the politics of keeping power.  The most disheartening part of it all however is the apparent lack of interest by the electorate to hold leaders accountable to the very people who elected them.  That alone should be enough to write about these days (and I suspect it will fill much of my time.)

...And, if I'm being honest, I still can't get my head around the fact that the Cubs actually won the Series.  Who would have thought....

Well, we are off.  Day 1 and well north of 500 words.  See you tomorrow.  No Really, you will.  Really

-MK