New Year Greetings, faithful readers. Prior to this post, my last entry here was on 16 November 2022. This 10-week break was the longest in the nearly 4 years I have blogged here at Gun Curious (as well as 10+ years blogging at Gun Culture 2.0).
I took a break both because I was overwhelmed by personal and family obligations and also because I have been rethinking my online and social media presence.
I was forced to do this reevaluation by my experiences over the years as well as reading Sherry Turkle’s book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, and two essays by Jonathan Haidt in The Atlantic last year, “Why the Past 10 Years of Amerian Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid” and “Yes, Social Media Really is Undermining Democracy.”
Turkle, Haidt, and others highlight all that is wrong with our increasingly mediated communication. Although I have tried to embody the motto “Light Over Heat” in my work, I sometimes feel as if I am writing in an echo chamber or speaking into a void.
Additionally, after years of growth, my blog readership peaked and declined, making me wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze.
As this blog post suggests, I have decided that it is.I have decided to keep blogging here and at Gun Culture 2.0 for three main reasons. First, I am (perhaps immodestly) proud of the accumulated knowledge I have shared over the years. Second, regardless of the size of my readership, the blogs serve as a personal journal of where my thoughts on guns and gun culture are at any given time. And third, I simply enjoy writing.
These blog posts are also the raw material for my ongoing book projects, Gun Curious, Gun Culture 2.0, and a possible 3rd book on 21st-century gun ownership called Responsible. If you’d like to support me in this work, please share my work or consider a financial contribution to help offset the costs of this work.
Thank you!
Gun Curious 
Real Life™ can be brutal, but always needs to come first. Hope everything is OK, or okay in the long-run at least.
As for social media in general, it almost appears to be designed to subdivide people.
Your absence has been noted. I hope you don’t leave the sphere all together. I always find your insight valuable.
Good luck however things work out.
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Thanks for your note and concern. I have nothing to complain about and no major concerns, just trying to allocate resources to places that need it like aging parents and self-care. I have realized that I enjoy blogging and have a small but dedicate audience — and occasionally reach beyond. So, hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me in 2023, and that I can find a way to bring the value-added that I used to do more of in the past.
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Glad to see your back, I’m a big fan of your work and willingness to look at bigger pictures then most of our community.
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I appreciate this comment and the support it brings which helps carry me. Thank you!
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