So, I decided to sit down and read much of my own blog. I did not read every single post, as that would be tedious and I have roughly 6 years of content, but I did read enough to get a general idea of what I wrote then, what I thought then, what I write now, and what I think now. I also can full in a lot of gaps when I did NOT post, and what I thought then, so this is a good record of my thought over the years. I will say I wish I started this sooner, it would be good to revisit my thinking especially from 2010-2016, as I underwent MAJOR shifts in that time frame. Honestly, my views from 2014 on have largely remained the same.
1) My views have been remarkably consistent over the years
Honestly, I read many of my 2016 views, and I could have written many of those articles in 2022. I literally promote the same brand of politics as I did then, and as I said, I feel like most changes are due to the environment changing around me, rather than me changing. I was full on anti work and pro UBI in 2016. Those views have always been part of my brand. I was always critical of the SJW movement, although I would say I've become more outwardly hostile to them as time has gone on. I never liked socialism, although I did meander left between 2016-2020, only for me to snap back post 2020. I've always hated both the democratic party and the republicans.
2) While most of my takes have aged well, a handful have not
I would say I probably still agree with 95% of my takes over the years, but some of them are just cringe reading them now. Seeing me push stories regarding the 2016 primaries being literally rigged and posting Russian propaganda is cringe to me. And of course, as I pointed out recently, I had a take in which I downplayed Trump refusing to accept the results of the election. The thing is, while I largely hold similar views on the democratic party, honestly, I didn't really know Russians leaked that stuff at the time, and it confirmed what I already figured out on my own, so I still pushed that stuff. I did own up to it afterward, posting that it didn't matter where it came from, if it's true it's true, and I would still say I agree with that, but yeah, for the sake of transparency I should point that out. And as far as Trump refusing to accept the results of the election, eh, I mean, until January 6th, I'm going to be honest. I treated Trump as a giant idiot. The dude is a manchild who I treated with kid gloves because it didn't feel fair, or intellectually fulfilling, to go after the dude seriously. Not to mention the dems do that enough, to the point of making their entire narrative about how bad Trump is. Trump being bad should be obvious, I focus on the left because the counter to the right's ideology has to come from a strong left that actually takes on the right in a meaningful way. Instead the left just takes pot shots at the right while offering little substance of their own.
3) The democratic party hasn't really learned anything
I really hoped 2016 would be a wake up call for the left. Documenting the left's shortcomings, it seems obvious that their election strategy in 2016 was a stinker. But in 2018 they doubled down on their centrist suburbanite strategy, and in 2020 repeated the same strategy with Biden. And it won them the primary again, but the general election was too close for comfort. They almost lost again. And now, with the neolibs back in power, their approval is floundering, with Biden looking like the second coming of Jimmy Carter. I discussed back in 2016 a lot of the history of the democratic party and the left wing infighting from 1968-1980, and it seems like they didn't learn. They still insist on fighting their own party, pushing candidates on them that can't win, and then blaming the base when they lose. And then they wonder why republicans win. Seriously, even though 2016 was a "realigning year", a lot of today's struggles are following the same pattern as the 1970s, which is something that should scare the crap out of the left.
And yes, I blame the party. The party blames the voters, and I admit, some of what the democrats have said would happen if we did not vote for them have come to happen, such as the Supreme Court. But ultimately, the democrats let it happen. It seems quite clear they have a leadership problem, with that old generation still running things, and they just won't vacate the party. I said in 2016 that the people in charge should vacate the party, hand it off to the next generation, and we should start over. That hasn't happened, and as long as that older generation desperately clings to power as the leaders of the party age into their literal 80s, nothing is going to improve. They can blame voters all they want, but if they can't make them vote for them, that is their problem, not the voters'.
4) Sometimes more isn't better
While 2016 and 2021 were particularly insightful years on this blog, where I spent more time posting here, more isn't always better. A lot of the time, I sound like a broken record. I write posts that I think are new and groundbreaking when I actually offered the same take a year ago or even six years ago. I sometimes feel guilty for not posting more, but it seems like a lot of the time I force myself to post, I just end up offering repetitive takes in which I talk for way too long.
I would say this year's posts in particular are among my weakest, since I just end up going on long tangents that don't really fit the post at hand.
All in all, my creative potential ebbs and flows. Sometimes I have a lot to say and I say a lot of things that are worth talking about. Sometimes I don't. I should probably do a better job just posting as per my social energy. This blog isn't going anywhere if I don't constantly post. And if anything, sometimes less is more. I barely posted from 2017-2019, but I didn't really need to. The posts I made are some of my best and still stand the test of time. And if I did force myself to post I'd just sound like a broken record again.
5) Most of my posts sound much better than I give myself credit for
I'm going to be honest. I kind of discussed this when I first made my blog, but this is relatively informal. Some of my posts are serious pieces of policy that I extensively research and go full throttle on, but others are just me writing stuff off the top of my head, with little idea of where I want to go with stuff. And often I hit post without thoroughly proofreading. My posts are often filled with typos and mistakes I did not catch, but they aren't exactly unreadable. And I make far fewer mistakes than I give myself credit for. A lot of my posts just sound...good. I like them. I agree with them. I'm proud of them.
6) I should probably bash republicans more
When I first started this, I went after everyone, republican and democrat. But a lot of the time, I end just fighting other lefties. There's a reason for this. Quite frankly, attacking republicans is boring. it's like shooting fish in a barrel. I mean, I could blog 20 times a day about how water is wet, but that is kind of pointless, right? Republicans bad. Attacking them is boring. I don't feel like I accomplish much doing so. The fact is, discussing them is largely below me.
At the same time, given the fact that the GOP is going nuts with the supreme court, and all of the January 6th stuff is going on, discussing Trump would probably be a good idea. I don't do it enough.
7) I have a very solid foundation for my views here
I've gone over existential legwork that I forgot I even did. Stuff that I was thinking of writing about again, but forgot I did years ago. I have a vision, I've been working on it for years, and I really should continue expanding on it.
8) A lot of developments I've made in the past 6 years could be seen coming from a mile away
Me dropping Bernie for Yang? yeah, the writing's been on the wall for that for a while. The fact is, in 2016, Bernie was the closest to my views, but I always had this pro UBI/anti work streak in my views. And has the Bernie camp has shifted to turn against that, it's no wonder my views have changed. I never was big on the green new deal, and shifting to abandon UBI for that was a shift that just wasn't going to happen. As I said in 2019, we have a lot of great ideas, but we need to prioritize. And I have prioritized. And in doing so, my views have shifted closer to Yang.
Me becoming more hostile to SJWs is also something that could've been predicted. At first, I tried treating them with kid gloves. I was like, hey I get your concerns, but this kind of politics is just inflaming the alt right, could you cut it out? They didn't cut it out. Instead they try to force me to choose between my priorities and theirs, and it shouldn't be surprising when I throw them to the curb to keep promoting my own brand. If anything, I'm honestly starting to think SJWs are an existential threat to free speech.
Honestly, a lot of developments try to force me into moments in which I decide, okay, does this event make me change my ethics? And given how strong my beliefs are in my own ethics, it rarely changes much of anything. I might concede on a few minor issues such as Trump being an existential threat to the country, but in all honesty? I'm largely the same. I literally changed a lot less than even I thought I did.
Conclusion: The state of this blog is strong
I have to say, I like most of what I posted here. Again, a few takes haven't aged particularly well, but like 95% of what I've said, I'll stand by as is, with minor corrections and improvements at best. My political views have barely changed in the past 6 years, and in all honesty, I feel like the major differences are the fact that the world has changed around me. If anything, rereading my old posts have given my perspective on issues that I had lost over the years. For example, I've been wondering if I should regret my 2016 green vote given the recent SCOTUS victories. But rereading my old posts makes me realize, yeah, the dems really made their bed and lied down on it. It didn't matter what I did, their strategy was so bad that what happened was inevitable. I mean, seriously, some of my old 2016 stuff is worth reading. I literally documented all of the missteps Hillary had made that alienated me and others. it's no wonder she lost. The dems might attempt revisionist history, but let the record stand that I was against her strategy from the get go, and that I was actually right where the dem propaganda machine was wrong.
I might decide to post a bit less in some ways from now on, but I might decide to post more in other ways. I only need so many articles telling people that SJWs are bad, for instance. Or that the dems are a corrupt institution. I should branch out more in some ways, I should build on what I have in other ways, without beating the dead horse over and over again. And if there are months or even years where I don't have anything to say, maybe the answer is just not to talk. This blog will always be here to come back to.
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