Trouble is, I haven't yet found any of quality. Oh, there are plenty of pickin's in the blogosphere - but the ones I've found are all either profit-driven or navel-staring. Lawyers on the take, realtors on the make, journalists writing indiscriminantly about anything and everything so that they can continue to justify their paychecks, people pushing their own private local political agendas, and of course the "look at ME!" crowd who have inexplicably concluded that the whole world would really like to see photos of their particular family dog.
One must expect a strong editorial element in any blog - that's the nature of the art form. But there's a fundamental difference between a veiled sales pitch and an outreach effort. There's a difference between people trying to bring about a result for their own individual benefit, and people whose goal is to provide information and perspective for the purposes of initiating actual two-sided dialog.
It's the latter that I'd like to learn about, if it exists. Forgive me, but I was born and raised in the Before Time, when everybody knew their neighbors, and the whole of daily life experiences did not revolve around the buying of tickets or paying of fees for absolutely every event that takes place. We were participants more than we were spectators or pitchmen, in other words. And in that process, people shared things. No literal or figurative money traded hands in the process, but people and communities were much richer for the experience.
So where are the local bloggers who are not out to capture your money, your vote, or your soul?
The difference between participating and pitching reminds me of the most powerful performance of Danny Devito's career, the closing scene in the movie The Big Kahuna, which he starred in beside Kevin Spacey. In it, he explains to his young understudy the essential difference between being a human being and a being a marketing rep:
"You preaching Jesus is no different than Larry or anybody else preaching lubricants. It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or how to make money in real estate with no money down. That doesn't make you a human being - it makes you a marketing rep.
If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are. Just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation any more - it's a pitch - and you're not a human being - you're a marketing rep."
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