First Post: Why Blog at all?

I continue to write and speak about politics, culture, society and history in many public spaces. So, why blog at all? In short, I see blogging as a heroic attempt to recapture the spirit of the democratic public sphere theorized and partially realized in the 18th century Enlightenment. That ideal (theorized by Jurgen Habermas) has been lost in an age fragmented and competing publics (thank you 1960s), the decline of news reporting (thank you Fox and MSNBC and increasingly, CNN...look at me insert myself in every story, I'm Anderson Cooper) and the narcissism of popular culture (thank you Facebook, Twitter and TMZ). The fragmentation and the decline of the public sphere has had profound effect on every aspect of our individual and social lives, but most notably, the decline, dare I say crisis, of the possibility of consensual politics or rational public culture. Acerbic political discourse, personalized political bashing, irrational national dialog, hardened ideological lines are the RESULT and not the cause of the long term decline of the public sphere. Modern public culture is a perfect representation of that intellectual and structural decline. Possibly, blogging by individuals can recapture the energy, possibility and purpose of the public sphere. If it descends into crass, irrational and angry discourse, it will merely be another reflection of decline. If it is polite, rational and positive it could be revolutionary. This is my attempt at contributing to that ideal. Join me?