It began four years ago when my first diary here on a special congressional election in my district was rescued. There were many thoughtful comments, and when I sent the link to the candidate, Francine Busby, she appreciated it, and I felt that I found a home on this site.
I'm now first doing this "retrospective" as I'm doubtful that what I have found here will be continued on the new version of Dailykos that is about to replace this one. I will certainly try, as I have already on the beta edition, but I know who I am, my limitations, my personality. And just as this particular format and the people whom it attracted worked for me as no other one did, V 4.0 is an open question.I'm writing this as a thank you note.... to those who have read my diaries, those who have commented on it, those who have applauded my work, and a special thanks to those who have disagreed with what I have said with courtesy, respect and pointed challenges.
I have to thank the one person who made this all possible, Markos Moulitsas, Kos, who provided this venue and managed to build it (basically by letting the group that he attracted have a free rein) into something worthwhile. I wish he would keep it as it is, but it's his choice and of course I wish him and this community nothing but success.
Only a few weeks ago I got an email from a stranger thanking me for a diary I wrote here a year ago, that I had all but forgotten about. It was an extensively researched piece that was a response to a right wing spokesperson, who does a national speaking tour comparing the policies of President Obama with that of Hitler. Kitty Werthmann: Distorted Memories of Anschluss
It turned out that this diary, that never made a big splash here, was the second Google selection under her name, for those who want to better evaluate what Werthmann says in her recollections. I was sympathetic to her as I carefully explained the many errors that she based her conclusions on. In the process I learned more of that historic event, and how perceptions of it have changed over the time that has passed. If there had not been a Dailykos, there would have been no venue for this essay, and this analysis that provided a dispassionate refutation of her thesis would not have been available to the public.
There is so much more that Dailykos has provided for me personally. Being on this site has empowered me, allowing me to feel that I had a following, as small as it may be, to attempt to affect issues. The serious essays were levened by the occasional satire, like this one that hit a communal funny bone, Buzz off Ykos Attendees. I become somewhat of a correspondent for North Coastal San Diego County, with many diaries written on the Soledad Cross controversy (example here), building on my personal friendship with the deceased originator of the suits to remove a religious symbol from public property.
I prodded the columnist for the regional newspaper, against his instincts to avoid this charged subject where three quarters of residents are for "saving the cross" to write about my position. Just this week I had a letter in "The San Diego Reader"-third down," that made the connection between Constantine the Great and the mentality of the militaristic nationalists of our day.
Fighting the rise of pseudo science is a consistent theme of Dailykos, one that resonates with me. Last summer, I noted that our public library was presenting a talk by a woman who would explain how you could identify criminals by their facial features. With only an hour to get there, I grabbed my camera, and arrived just as she started her speech. By the end of the day, I had written a description of the event, my confrontation of her, and my letter to the director of libraries and it was posted here, Facial Features of Dangerous Criminals
The only reason that I have been effective in these diaries, defending separation of church and state, finding new contradictions in our run up to war, and other consensual progressive causes, is that I also happen to write diaries that are anathema to the vast majority of this group. This means defending at different times, Rush Limbaugh, Joseph Lieberman and even recently Sarah Palin. These diaries were essential for my tenure on this site, as it was my answer, both internalized and expressed, to those who attacked me for my progressive positions. And the very fact that I was accepted here in spite of these diaries was a defense of this site, a refutation that this was, as O'Reilly states, "A hate site." No, we do have hate here, and rage and irrationality, but that does not define us, and I point to my own contrarian diaries as one example among many.
As I look over those 375 diaries, and over 10,000 comments from several thousand different people, I have to have a sense of satisfaction-and appreciation. Sure, the few hostile personal attacks hurt, but that's more a sign of the value that I have gotten from this community, that the harsh comment was seen as posing a danger to my belonging here.
There is a miraculous aspect of this outgrowth of the internet, this "blogisphere" that has become so much a part of our world. It has the power to disrupt entrenched dictatorships, but also to trivialize and divert attention from hard learned verities. It is both public and intimate; as interpersonal connections can cause terrible emotional pain, leading to violence to one's self or others. But it also has the potential to provide comfort and intellectual stimulation, in my case to a person of advancing years and declining mental abilities.
Change happens. I will be there at the grand opening of DK4 with an open mind and energy to try to make it work for me, and for the community.
Let's all keep in touch.
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