Greetings and Salutations
You can call me Paine, welcome to my blog. It's a pleasure to meet you and a privilege to have my work read. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am in my early twenties, teetering on the edge of law school. I'm currently taking a gap year to work at a law firm. When I’m not working a nine-to-five, you can find me playing my piano, swing dancing, and drawing caricatures. And with all the downtime allotted to us by the Pandemic, I discovered an adoration for reading and writing.
One of the highest pleasures in my life is engaging in intellectual dialogue. Whether it’s debating with my friends, going back and forth with a co-worker about current events, or finding a random stranger at the street or bar to exchange views with, I’m always on the lookout for a good intellectual tussle. My average morning begins with thinking to myself, “Who will challenge my ideas today?” Truly, my life is one of chasing both knowledge and confrontation!
Within the past couple of years, I've been on a quest to dig deeper into my own beliefs and find out more about who I am, and who others are. I believe that healthy, constructive philosophical and political discussions are not only the most effective but also the most pleasurable manner of doing this. Although this journey is far from its conclusion, I’m eager to share what I’ve discovered and experienced so far and learn right alongside you, the reader!
I seek a mutually beneficial relationship between both of us. Say I argue in favor of “X” I’d love for you to say, “But have you considered Y” When I express my uncertainty about “A”, do not hesitate to tell me “Well, how about B?”
When performed properly, the free exchange of ideas is a beautiful dance! And it is this idea that is at the core of what liberal democracy truly is: a massive interconnected web of competing thoughts and beliefs! I wish to help this interconnected web in any way I can by showing how debate can be done in a healthful manner and also to throw my own ideas and experiences into the ring for consideration.
Some of my beliefs are rock solid, some are a bit wobbly, and some are just forming. I want this relationship to help us discover new things about ourselves and the world. I believe if we stick together, we can become more informed, articulate, and capable individuals!
I maintain that this is only the beginning of our journey. Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ll be diving into soon: “What is the basis of human rights? Is it self-ownership, private property, or the creation of community?”, Does the modern conception of social justice conflict with the 1960s civil rights movement?”, and “What precisely is late stage capitalism and are we living under it?”
I’m hoping to pursue this relationship further than a blog. Soon I would like to begin jumping into the realm of podcasting and video content. Just as well, social media would be an interesting asset to try! My digital footprint is as barren as the Serbian winter, so I think that jumping into social media will be quite an adventure for us!
I hope you’ll stick around, chime in with your thoughts, and reach out whenever you feel like it. Until next time.
-Paine
