And Thanks For Your Support
Two months ago several of us began BraveHumans with the goal of raising the level of discussion between people of differing points of view and building bridges across the red-state/blue-state divide. We had grown tired seeing liberals only talk to liberals and conservatives only talk to conservatives. We were frustrated with the media game of pitting ideologues against each other to argue over who is has the truth and who is insane. Mostly we were tired of the political and corporate tactics used to divide us and make us fearful. Fearful of terrorism, fearful of the other political party, and fearful of each other. It is one thing to be wary of real risk, it is quite another to let fear rule our lives.
On a whim, Brian wrote a piece called I Am Not Afraid. This began a series of discussions on combating the culture of fear, and changing the way we talk to each other as fellow human beings (hence the name of our blog). So we decided we would give it a go. We would all write about topics important to us. We would do so honestly, thoughtfully, and with respect for differing opinions. Our hope was that we would build a readership, and would encourage others to do the same. We had no idea if it would work, but we went with hope over fear.
In our short time online we have met with a lot of encouragement. Several people have complimented BraveHumans. We have been named a Blog of the Day, and The Compass offered us a very kind apology after initially accusing BraveHumans of being a liberal rag.
It’s been a great start.
In the past week BraveHumans has experienced a significant increase in visitors. Most of these are from StumbleUpon and MyBlogLog. To those who are new visitors, welcome. Keep reading, and if you like what you see, then give us a StumbleUpon thumbs up, or join our MyBlogLog Community. If you have a blog of your own, then help us spread the word and link to us. We have a list of sites linking to us at the bottom of this page. For those who have already linked to us, thank you. In particular, a big thanks to David B. Dale of Very Short Novels for recommending us on StumbleUpon, and to Carol1461 of My View of It for listing us as one of her Technorati favorites. But even more than sharing links and joining our community, we hope that you will join in the discussion.
Now that BraveHumans has gotten some attention, we’d like to see it grow. We’d like to see BraveHumans have a voice if it can. But we can only do that with your help. We have some ideas about how BraveHumans can grow, but we’d also like to hear your ideas. Would you like a site where political commentary is thoughtful, and really is balanced because all sides get to be heard? Would you like to hear why people have views very different from your own? Would you like a place that doesn’t push a single political view, or media view, or corporate view?
We would. We would like to build a community that nurtures mutual understanding, and feeds our democracy. The kind of community where we can respect other people, even if they hold views very different from our own. If you would like that as well, then join us. If you are new to the site, go back and read some of our earlier posts. Leave us a comment on this post saying what you like about BraveHumans, what you don’t like, and what you would like BraveHumans to become. If enough people comment, we will open a forum to further the discussion. We don’t want BraveHumans to just be our website. We’d like it to be your website as well. Let us know how we can all grow BraveHumans.
Even if we don’t hear from you, we’ll keep posting every other day. If you find us thoughtful and honest, then please keep coming back. Tell your friends about us. Tell your enemies even. And if you have a post you would like to add, let us know.
Until then,
Be Brave. Be Human.
February 19th, 2007 13:29
I only have a minute to help today during my workday, but I want to direct your attention to a discussion currently underway at Tales from the Reading Room on Wordpress. Our hostess Litlove has gathered a pretty sharp group with her daily posts on life and literature. This recent discussion started out with a post about the Holocaust-denial conviction in Germany, and quickly spun out into a general discussion about the Freedom of Speech. It’s worth a look.
http://litlove.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/on-free-speech/
February 19th, 2007 21:39
I am not afraid to tell you that even not being american, I absolutely agree with your position, which is that of the free and brave people, all over the world. I sincerely compliment you as your new regular visitor. I’ll be back to see your new posts.
Bravo !
February 19th, 2007 21:56
Yes, I had noticed , too, that the early effects of blog proliferation seems to be that nobody seeks the truth anymore, but everybody proclaims to know it. When we seek the truth, we discover that it comes in so many shades. Truth is rarely absolute, and when we talk only to ourselves, we miss most of it.
Don’t get discouraged. God is on the side of truth, and He has shown it to us humans in so many million different ways.
February 20th, 2007 02:45
why dint you have a comedy section? Like what you are doing I think it is cool!
February 20th, 2007 08:59
David,
Thanks for the link!
February 20th, 2007 09:01
Welcome, Victor!
I’m glad you like the site, and that our readership extends beyond American shores. It will be good to have an international perspective on many of these topics.
February 20th, 2007 09:02
I would definitely like to read more about what is going on in the political world and show it from both aspects. I feel as if when I watch t.v. I get one sides point of view on the matter, which is quite slandered.
February 20th, 2007 09:06
David,
Welcome to BraveHumans!
I agree with you on the value in seeking truth. Many do see God as the source of truth, and others do not. But I think if we approach issues honestly there is truth to be found. Seeking truth is indeed a noble goal.
February 20th, 2007 09:08
Hi Bryan,
Can I ask where you see BraveHumans on the political scale currently? Do you think it is balanced, or leans right or left?
February 20th, 2007 09:10
Welcome to BraveHumans, Roger!
Having a comedy section is an interesting idea. A concern that comes to mind is that in politics, comedy usually attacks or ridicules the opposing side. I’d be worried that would work against facilitating mutual respect. Still, a comedy section is something to think about.
February 20th, 2007 09:17
Hey thanks for popping by http://coolinsights.blogspot.com where I blog about all things marketing, lifestyle, PR, blogging and the world of social media.
Bravehumans is a pretty unique blog which espouses the very same values which I treasure and hold dear. In this day and age, it is increasingly important to mutually understand each other’s position and value the right for humanity to live in harmony, tolerance and understanding.
Would you be keen to exchange links? Do let me know. Will also be putting your blog on my newsreader!
February 20th, 2007 09:26
Welcome, Walter!
Glad you like BraveHumans. Hope you keep visiting.
As for link exchanges, we’ve been trying to stay away from simply trading links to raise our standing. So I would say don’t link to us simply to trade. If you like the site, then please do link to us. As links show up, we do try to add them to our list of mutual links.
February 20th, 2007 16:30
This is one of the more refreshing blogs that I stumbled upon after a very long time.
First off, a disclaimer: Whilst I am a regular reader of BraveHumans, I am a co-founder of ZapTXT.
May I suggest that you consider using the ZapTXT widgets on the site so readers can elect to receive alerts when a) new posts appear and b) when they find a post that they want to follow a conversation on by being alerted when new comments appear. Readers can also filter headlines for phrases and keywords if they like.
For those of you that have never heard of us, ZapTXT lets a blogs readers elect to receive alerts via Email, Instant Messenger or SMS.
Comments monitoring for each post in particular becomes especially useful given that readers often comment on posts that have long left the front page and ZapTXT would alert them when a conversation starts or is re-kindled on new and older posts.
More on our publisher program at http://zaptxt.com/home/publisher. And here’s an example of a vibrant community that are proud to power (see Z under each comment and the ZapTXT button in the side bar): http://www.hoboken411.com
February 20th, 2007 17:54
Welcome, Sameer.
I just want to add that Sameer’s post isn’t a random spam comment. Sameer contacted me privately about ZapTXT, and I suggested he mention it here and see if anyone has thoughts about it.
Brian
February 22nd, 2007 14:57
I am from India and residing in the USA for the last 4 years. So that makes me a foreigner still, I guess. I just want to share an observation of mine. I like to interact and talk to people. But I find that most people are so afraid of conversation in the USA. Especially if its anything political. I think it is the litiguous culture that is the reason behind all this. And I am not impressed with media content [TV, Newspapers] which always shirk the issues. Average people on the street have no clue whats going on and more importantly do not want to know, think or hear from anyone else is the impression I always get after any conversation.
February 22nd, 2007 22:10
Hi Lakshmi,
I think most of us on the site would agree and say that’s why we started the blog. Please come back and keep reading/posting. I’d love to hear your perspective and insight from Indian politics and cultural issues. You guys are at least as complicated as we are in the US and the comparisons could be really useful. I promise to tell you when I disagree with you and not avoid a discussion.
-Grant
February 23rd, 2007 16:04
Yeah! Thanks Grant. Some honesty at last
Like you folks, I dont want someone to agree with me, but atleast speak your mind.
February 24th, 2007 13:50
Hi Lakshmi,
I can promise to do that.
-G