Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Left or Right?
Political ideology is a certain set of ethical ideals, principles, doctrines, myths or symbols of a social movement, institution, class or large group that explains how society should work and offers some political and cultural blueprint for a certain social order. However, after taking quizzes from, allsides.com and politicalcompass.org, to determine where I fall on the political and social spectrum. There was no surprise in my mind that I was considered leaning left according to allsides.com and left libertarian according to political compass.org. My results place me on the spectrum closest to, Nicola Sturgeon and Nelson Mandela. They are both slightly left and libertarian people that think for others and not just themselves; this how I view myself as person and this doesn’t surprise me too much.
Next, the ideologies that are represented by the left are mostly in common with me, such as:
- We should focus on the rights of the mother when it comes to abortion, and focus on preserving or expanding the ability to have an abortion
- Gay marriages are no different in nature or intent than those of opposite-sex couples
- We should celebrate and encourage an expanded view of the family structure/non-traditional families; children fare fine in many different family formations
- Open and free expression of sexuality is a right and should be encouraged
- We should de-emphasize distinctive gender characteristics as they are more often the result of socialization; we should emphasize the important potential for women and non-binary people to be in the same roles as men
- Minority classes often suffer adversely due to beliefs, behaviors or practices, whether intentional or unintentional, that favor or uphold viewpoints or practices that create inequality in society
- The government needs to change policy or create programs to ensure equal rights to all groups
These are all the same beliefs I have about these issues, however, my view on gender identification is more right-wing. This is because I believe that a person should identify as only male, female, or if they can biologically identify as both, then both.
As a result, I agree with these quizzes and believe that they almost always accurately describe a person’s social and economic beliefs.
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
William's Writing Journal 