penfield | Keeping Things Platonic

"A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something."
- Plato (Classical Greek philosopher and Republican)

It's been two months since I first endeavored to write something in this space every weekday. In many ways, it's gone better than I would have predicted: I haven't bailed on a day yet^* or given up altogether, which I must admit I privately expected. Reader interest, as measured by reader comments, has been relatively strong. And my emergency list of "evergreen" topics -- for those days when I lack extemporaneous inspiration or when I'm not giving a shout-out to a current/recent event -- is mostly untouched.

All that said, another ten months seems like an eternity, especially when I think about the quote above. It's a code I like to live by: only speaking when something needs to be said. I believe this code has served me well in life, though it is somehwat ironic and occasionally stifling given my profession and self-profession as a communicator.

It seems to me that there are a lot of people who could use this lesson. The "blogosphere" alone has become a siren's wail of angst, invective, polemicism and idle speculation. Add to that the 24-hour cable news cycle, talk radio, print journalism and the chattering classes, and you have the mass-media equivalent of Kosovo.

Often, I wonder what I'm contributing to the environment besides mere noise. My only hope for relevance is saying something meaningful or clever enough to keep you coming back. And how long will it be before I run out of ammunition?

So if it ever seems like I'm stretching to be self-important or interesting or amusing, it's because I'm desperately trying to adhere to Plato's maxim. And if I fail and look the fool, then at least I'll still have people laughing.