Public Comment: Recent Episodes
Sean O'Connor
Most of my social life has been rather marred by anxiety and shyness. Lately I've been opening up though, on social media, experimenting with self expression beyond the written word into digital audio and video. But is digital better than print?
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Definitions keep me up at night. For example, what is the difference between a "free verse poem" and an "essay" other than line breaks? What is the difference between a "diary" and a "journal?"
I try never to stop "counting my blessings."
When it comes to self marketing (as opposed to political marketing, or marketing for an employer) anxiety and a complicated array of thoughts can stifle me. It does come down to wanting other peoples' money and how financial concerns muddy the waters of our social interactions. Still, self promoting is part of life and part of expressing a healthy self-esteem. So here I am, advocating for my own free thoughts, and free trade.
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I suffer from extreme ignorance with respect to all things STEM so this new phase of learning about computer and internet technology-- specifically dealing with live and recorded audio and video files-- is challenging. Still, I find it fascinating and relevant to culture awareness and literacy. If only that was enough to keep all my treasured friendships afloat.
Between my failed attempt turn my self-published book, my three failed runs for political office, and my failed pursuit of a teaching assistantship position as a graduate school student I've had enough failure to feel like I'm an expert on the topic. But, like Elon Musk, I refuse to be defined by my failures, so today I imagined myself as the Montaigne of the personal vlog, digressing from topic to topic as I pleased, from failure to time, thinking of Hootie and the Blowfish, when they sing: "Time, why you punish me?"
From an F in math in fifth grade to a 3.98 GPA and a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies at 33 years old...my views on education have evolved significantly...
How can we get a sense of the world when we are bombarded with so much information and an overwhelming plethora options for contemplation everywhere around us? How does this impact the way we process the news, especially as President Trump's Attorney General William Barr faces Contempt of Congress? This is the kind of thing which has bothered me for a long time, which I first addressed back in the Spring of 2011 when I first discovered the value of news, politics and philosophy...
1) The medium of talking... to "the world," to humanity! 2) The philosophy behind gun policy based on how we value human life and how we define and establish what a right is, which is based even more fundamentally on ethics which is based even more fundamentally on epistemology....
Homicide Statistics from the United Nations
Homicide Statistics from the FBI
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The Public Comment Video Blog-- featuring cultural and political analysis, commentary, activism, and introspection, is now extending beyond publiccomment.blog, YouTube & Facebook to the Podcast medium. In this pilot of the new Podcast version of Public Comment I discuss my desire for balancing independence and sense of community, implications which are political and psychological