Posted by
Keith Arnold on Friday, August 18, 2006 9:58:43 PM
Hi, my name is Keith Arnold, and I'd like to welcome you to my corner of the blogosphere. I hope you like it here, and I hope you'll feel comfortable coming back again and again. Feel free to bookmark this spot, so you can find your way back without worrying about the birds lunching on that trail of breadcrumbs you were considering.
I'm going to start by dedicating the work here to a few people who are important to me. First, my lovely and talented wife Cecile, the love of my life, who has been watching my writing for a few years and really thinks I should have a blog of my own. Second, to Hugh Hewitt, who urged like-minded people like me to start their own blogs and participate in the great discussion; Hugh has been a hero of mine through three radio stations of Morning Glory and Evening Grace and a PBS gig, and I still have this recurring dream of being discovered by him. Third, to my new-found friends Alex and Amanda, who've been blogging for a while and letting me sound off under the screen name of "Qoheleth" on their blogs, and share an awful lot of my opinions (at least, those we've shared so far). Fourth, to Pastor Steve, who's been reading my blog comments since Day One over at the Gathering and other associated blogs. Finally, to the late Francis A. Schaeffer, whose writings had a large hand in formulating my worldview.
Why "STAND"? It's short and simple, and it says quite a lot for a five-letter word. This blog is a place where I can take a stand. It's where I can stand athwart history, shouting "stop." It's a little bit of a newsstand. It's where you and I can stand around the water cooler talking about what's important. It's about the grace by which I stand.
Who am I? You'll get a fuller picture if you stick around for a while, but if you want a thumbnail sketch, I'm an evangelical Christian, and have been for thirty years and change, but this blog isn't primarily about religion. Politically, I'm a conservative, but this blog isn't just about politics. I'm male, in my late forties, made a career in the business world, drive too fast, drink too much coffee, and really don't care for labels, because as soon as you try to hang a sign on me, I'm going to do something horribly inconsistent just to show you that the box you tried to put me into just isn't big enough.
I'm also very opinionated, and I grew up believing that a weak opinion never got anyone anywhere worth being. You'll see a lot of that here.
This blog is all about life and everything in it - the news, the politics, the culture, our relationships, and everything else that is a subset of the life we live. Life is big and exciting, and I've been blessed with a wide enough range of experiences to fill three lifetimes. For me, it's all about meaning. This is all about "the lordship of Christ in the totality of the life of man." Ask me about that sometime, if you'd like. Or wait for me to write about it.
The ground rules - come on in and participate in the great conversation. I'm going to try to keep it civil, in my own opinionated way. I'm forgiving of the occasional typo, but do run that spell-checker if you would, and don't end sentences with prepositions if you can help it. I'm fine with anything from formal to casual (I'm usually pretty formal in my grammar), but the red pencil comes out in the presence of substandard English, and it may, especially if the context merits it, lead me to assume unpleasant things about you. Intelligence really tends to impress me, as does civility. Abuse and willful ignorance have the opposite reaction; if you want to be abusive, or advance some trendy conspiracy theory, you're welcome to do so - on your own blog. This one is mine.
Also, I don't much care for anonymous comments; please add a name or a screen name when you write. Management reserves the right to discount any opinion you have that you're not willing to sign. When John Hancock had an opinion, he wasn't afraid to sign it. Besides, it's just good manners to let people know with whom they are conversing. So please, introduce yourself.
Enough said. Come on in, and you're always welcome to come by for a visit. Feel free to prop your feet up, but do be mindful to put a coaster under your drink here at the STAND.
- Keith