This post serves as an introduction to the site that you are on now. I hope that any questions you may have about this website are answered upon reading this post.
This is a place for me, Billy, to share my thoughts on different topics. These topics will mainly be political in nature, though perhaps they won't always be. The topics I discuss may be very broad, or more specific and timely.
This site should not be treated as a news site; I am one person and will be unable to provide all the facts surrounding an issue. If you are learning about something here for the first time, I invite you to research the topic independently of this site. However, as this site will discuss political matters, current events and facts surrounding them will be crucial to the conversation. Though I will try not to, I will inevitably make factual errors. To help minimize these errors, I will try to reference a source whenever I make a claim that is more than just my thoughts.1 Whenever I notice I have made a mistake, I will be sure to correct it.
I find myself incapable of escaping the news. Whether I see it on my phone, it comes up in conversation, or I merely hear something in passing, I am, as I am sure many others are, constantly inundated with information about the current state of the world. Whenever I consume information for the first time, I cannot help but have an immediate reaction. This reaction can be joy and optimism, or it can be anger and disbelief. Whatever that immediate reaction may be, I find that when I take time to dive deeper into the topics, I can cut through the initial emotions and develop a better understanding of my own opinions surrounding an issue. It is my intention to document my thoughts on certain matters, as I believe writing my thoughts down will force me to think them through fully.
I've explained why I have written these thoughts down, but have yet to explain why I am posting them here. I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, I believe posting in a way that anyone can find will cause me to be more thorough when thinking through an issue. Secondly, by posting them here, I am inviting people to disagree with me. I want to hear these other perspectives as it will force me to challenge my beliefs, something, I believe, everyone should do. The final reason for posting here is I believe it would be a waste to take the time to type out my thoughts and not have any mechanism for sharing them with the world. What is the purpose of having thoughts, if not to share them with others.
Though I am unsure if reading these posts will provide anyone with great benefit, I invite all who are interested to read. All I ask is that as you read, have an open mind. I don't expect anyone to be persuaded by what I have to say, but I at least hope you gain an understanding of why I believe the things I do. If ever you believe I have overlooked something, am mistaken in my facts, or just want to discuss an issue further, feel free to reach out to me using the email at the bottom of all my posts. I look forward to hearing from you.
This is an example of how I could reference sources throughout a post ↩