Why Am I Here?

This is, I hope, one of several posts I'll write to explain who I am and why I'm writing what I write here.

Who is Charles2? The tag line on my blog says some things about me, all of which are true. But that's not all there is. If any of you have followed a link here from my comments on other blogs you at least know some of my thoughts and positions. But how did an ex-Army officer (a West Point graduate, no less) wind up with such liberal views? Damned if I know, really. I've been a closet liberal since high school.

And not just a liberal; I'm also an atheist, a humanist, a skeptic... All brought on by lots of reading and thinking; things that have always been viewed as subversive throughout the centuries.

Not surprisingly, in the military I couldn't really talk a whole lot about my political or personal beliefs; they just didn't fit in with the gung-ho, ultra-conservative military people around me. (Think aWol, Cheney, Wolfowitz, but on steroids.) They were all (mostly) great people, and I lived, laughed and fought beside them gladly. But my ideas just wouldn't have been well received.

And so it is today, working for a very large transnational corporation. The viewpoints are the same, the clothes are just a little more colorful. I needed an outlet.

Then I discovered blogs. The first liberal blog I read was Altercation (see link to the right). Then I noticed Eric's blogroll and started exploring. My small blogroll is just a start and doesn't do justice to the number of blogs I read - although those are my most read. And I thought "hey, I could do that!" But I also know that writing is not as easy as good writers make it seem. So I started reading carefully and began commenting on my favorite blogs. I think the unwritten protocol in blog comments is to ignore the newbie until they are sort of established and have said a few semi-intelligent things. Eventually the regulars started commenting on my comments and I was hooked.

So... here I am. As of today there have only been a couple of comments on my very few posts. But like applause to an actor, it's got me hooked.

I'm not so naive as to think that I've got any regular readers yet. But I'm hoping. I'll keep posting; it's not only good practice for writing, but it's an outlet for my thoughts and rants. Keeps me from yelling at my coworkers. And since I can't really expect to make money doing this, well... I need my job.

I hope that those who discover my blog will take at least a little something away for the effort. And even more, I hope that those who visit will leave a little something as well. I am always willing to listen to reasoned discussion; always willing to learn something new. Oh, and I hope you'll come back!

To Be Continued...