How To Lose Friends And Alienate People

Over the last few years I’ve watched broadcast television increasingly infrequently. I tend to only catch anything if I happen to be sat in the lounge at the same time as something happens to be on the screen in front of me “ as happened this evening with the movie “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”. Before the movie falls into the entirely predictable Hollywood story arc (boy meets girl, boy doesn’t realise he has girl, boy realises, girl doesn’t realise, boy loses girl, girl realises, etc, etc) it’s pretty damn good, and got me thinking about writing on the internet “ about blogging. How many of us have entertained the notion that we might one day garner an audience for our words? Have you ever also considered what your price might be in terms of “selling out” to achieve that goal? Would you write favourably about a product or subject? Would you temper your views on an injustice, silence your faith, or ignore a cause? Present manufactured opinions as your own, or surrender to the views of the majority? It’s a version of Pandora’s Box, isn’t it. Having the courage to stand alone and express your views, your ideas and your opinions when you know they go against those of the crowd. To be true to yourself. Perhaps it’s the difference between popularity and noteriety “ entirely opposing, and yet easily transferrable qualities. In the realm of the internet, and the written word it seems noteriety breeds popularity. Those only too eager to consume an argument lack the bravery required to volunteer their own voice publically, and yet they will do so at length under the cloak of anonymity. What am I saying here? The most interesting thing about any of us is our differences. By following the crowd, and adopting their views and opinions as our own, we may as well cease to exist. Our thoughts and beliefs are important “ they connect us, they differentiate us, and they bond. They make us the people that our friends confide in, and look for in times of need.