Michael Stafford's Blog
October 17, 2017
A Small Conversation
One of my good friends, a lady Young Adult writer, rides today's winds of social change on her finely woven tapestry of moderate liberalism. Myself, I'm not so much riding as being tossed about by the confusing seas of modern conservative warfare.
Our conversations, unlike those of our congressional peers, are not sharply worded tweets or divisive conjugations of otherwise unintelligible syntax. Rather, we seek to find common ground where our interests can be mutually fulfilled without severe damage to our respective ideologies or word views.
This can be done, and in our case, usually results in a feeling of accomplishment. We have crossed The Territorial Imperative and found the waters to be strangely smooth and fulfilling, in the Middle.
There are 70 million Americans who identify as moderates, Cyrus calls them The Middle, and I suspect they will soon be, or already are, seeking The Front where Cyrus Kohler works his magic which, of course, is not magic at all, but an old idea we once called Common Sense.
In these days of vicious partisanship I submit that our elected leaders, who have nominated themselves and asked us, the no ones, to sanction their selections, would do well to sit in on one of our conversations or better yet, JOIN THE FRONT.
Our conversations, unlike those of our congressional peers, are not sharply worded tweets or divisive conjugations of otherwise unintelligible syntax. Rather, we seek to find common ground where our interests can be mutually fulfilled without severe damage to our respective ideologies or word views.
This can be done, and in our case, usually results in a feeling of accomplishment. We have crossed The Territorial Imperative and found the waters to be strangely smooth and fulfilling, in the Middle.
There are 70 million Americans who identify as moderates, Cyrus calls them The Middle, and I suspect they will soon be, or already are, seeking The Front where Cyrus Kohler works his magic which, of course, is not magic at all, but an old idea we once called Common Sense.
In these days of vicious partisanship I submit that our elected leaders, who have nominated themselves and asked us, the no ones, to sanction their selections, would do well to sit in on one of our conversations or better yet, JOIN THE FRONT.
March 31, 2017
Starting Up
Between the Walls of Time
Earnest Hemingway once said a writer should write what they know. This is the world I know, where I have lived my life, how I have interpreted the actions of my fellow man, his politics and religion.
Most writers present us with books built upon something that has already happened. That makes it history. My books, Between the Walls of Time and Oblivion's Reach (2018) are about our future. They are road maps. Use them to understand and explore whatever your personal limits might be. We all have thresholds, some of us will step over them, some of us will find that step too daunting. I get it. Do your best to walk off the field with no more to give. I promise you, it will be a very satisfying feeling. M
Earnest Hemingway once said a writer should write what they know. This is the world I know, where I have lived my life, how I have interpreted the actions of my fellow man, his politics and religion.
Most writers present us with books built upon something that has already happened. That makes it history. My books, Between the Walls of Time and Oblivion's Reach (2018) are about our future. They are road maps. Use them to understand and explore whatever your personal limits might be. We all have thresholds, some of us will step over them, some of us will find that step too daunting. I get it. Do your best to walk off the field with no more to give. I promise you, it will be a very satisfying feeling. M
