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I do not believe that I will convince anyone to change their mind on matters of politics through a Facebook post. If you and I are of a similar mind, what I say might get a “heck yeah��. If you’re opposed, it’ll get an “oh no he didn’t!�� Thus flame wars are born afresh across the internet. And people get upset. And then they share with their friends. And then they get upset. I complain about all the crazy people in my feed. And share with my friends. Then they get upset. And on and on and on we go, arguing endlessly and never coming to anything remotely approaching understanding much less agreement. Facebook allows for easy shouting, but not so much for quiet conversation.

Looking at my social media feeds, I’m certainly not being convinced of anything. People post like crazy. “Look what the administration just did!�� “Why didn’t these people complain when the last administration was exercising executive overreach!””I just joined [NAME OF GROUP], and you should to because it protects our rights!�� (Consider this, dear reader: which group did you just put in those brackets? The ACLU or the NRA?

I just wrote a full page of mostly single-spaced text as a response to some text wall someone had put up. As I was tying up the loose ends of my diatribe, I typed “but I have no illusions about convincing anyone who isn’t already leaning my way to change through a Facebook post.��

As soon as I’d written it, I realized it was absolutely true. Facebook / social media (especially Twitter. Yeesh.) isn’t the place to have the kind of meaningful conversation that brings understanding, reconciles differences, and changes minds. Those conversations are a couple of levels deeper than what Facebook allows. Facebook is good for maybe a first or second level conversation. First level being “how’s the weather��, and second being “I read this great book the other day.�� The medium doesn’t lend itself to deeper conversation. Link to a great blog post? (not this one, goodness), yes. Reflection upon what current trends in the culture and the world around us means for our families, our culture, future generations, etc? Not so much.

It’s great for memes and dinner recommendations. I’m constantly seeing recipes I want to try. It’s adequate if all you want to do is shout “THAT’S BAD!�� Or “LOOK AT HOW GOOD I’M BEING!�� Or “DID YOU SEE WHAT THAT CRAZY PERSON SAID/DID/POSTED? OMG!��

But it’s no great shakes at reasoned discussion.

Not that this will convince anyone.

Seems like a good time to clear away the past and start over. Besides, a lot of what I’ve written before doesn’t seem to apply any more, and it was time for a change. So, I’m clearing the decks, cleaning the board, and clearing the slate. Reboot. In fact, re-install the OS. Start over. Ground zero. And see where we go from here.

I mean, some things will never change. Careful observers will see me wearing a “Talk Poké to Me�� t-shirt. And you can catch the outline of a Cherry Coke Zero can there. Over my shoulder, Star Wars Legos, D&D books, the US flag��

But it’s time to re-start the conversation I’m having with�� well, myself, I guess, and anyone who feels the need can chime in if you feel like it.

Had a bit of a conversation earlier today on Facebook, where someone said that to maintain friendships, they’d long ago learned that they needed to be completely silent on politics. That bothered me. More than bothered me, it ���DzԱ������ٱ����me. For a couple of years, I’ve been really quiet. That’s not always the best policy, because it means we’re never heard.

More speech, not less. More talking, more sharing. My daughter has been quoting the Magic School Bus a lot around me lately: “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.��

Part of that will certainly be in audio, as a reboot of Gut Check Cast. No idea what the format will be, but let’s just say I’ve more than reset any gains I made during that exercise (hah! See what I did there? Because GutCheck�� was about�� losing weight�� which meant exercise�� and oh look I’ve killed the joke), and it’s time to start doing something positive about that.

Part of that will almost certainly be in fiction, as I’ve let that particular field lie fallow for years. I told myself that it was because of a particularly onerous clause in an employment contract, but the truth is I got lazy. And then I got scared, and it’s time to get moving. Even if I’m still scared. I will need to re-learn a lot of what I knew, and I’m WAY too far behind in NaNoWriMo, but it’s time to get back on that stick also.

So, reboot, restart, re-do, re-learn. New fresh look, new fresh digs, same old me. What could possibly go wrong?

In my head: