“Pick a subject you care so deeply about that you’d speak on a soapbox about it.” — Kurt Vonnegut
“I’m furious about the Women’s Liberationists. They keep getting up on soap-boxes and proclaiming that women are brighter than men. That’s true, though it should be kept very quiet or it ruins the whole racket.” — Anita Loos
A blog is many things, a public journal, a conversation with oneself, a showcase for writing and ideas, an exercise in vanity and a soapbox. Vonnegut’s quote speaks to me. I write about subjects I care deeply about, my relationship with myself, relationships with others, and my place in the larger community. I write from my lived experience, what I’ve learned from others, and what it means in the larger context of the world we live in.
During the past seven years since I’ve launched this blog, I’ve often stood up and shouted from my soapbox, sometimes simply to break the silence, to speak about the unspeakable, and acknowledge that we are only as sick as our secrets. I’ve often written that “The personal is political and the political is personal.”
Friends and family sometimes accuse me of oversharing and judge me as a result. It’s the cost of being public with my innermost thoughts, opinions, and memories. Yesterday, I heard a quote that spoke to me. I paraphrase it here. “History is not what happened, but who tells the story.” I want to be the storyteller about my life and my beliefs.
Prayer for My Voice
As a founding member of OutReach’s LGBTQ Narratives Activist-Writer’s Group, I wrote this poem. The intent was to give myself permission to write about subjects that were secrets, for which I felt shame, that required courage, and in response to Audre Lorde’s quote, “Silence will not protect you.”
Prayer for My Voice
I will not be silenced by fear,
or dark shadows cast by shame
upon the parts of my essence
or experiences I’ve disowned.
I will learn to embrace my shadow,
love the secrets unshared, then
speak the unspeakable in my loudest voice,
trusting that revelation will in the end protect me,
not locks and chains, nor closets.I will not fear exposure, by making visibility my armor,
silence hides in darkness and corners.
I will stand in the light and with others.
And, on those days I stand alone, I pray that
I will stand tall like a flag or beacon,
so others may see and join me. I pray that I may sing
an anthem of courage, mining words,
deep from my belly and heart, warbling in my throat
before putting pen to paper, in ink, not blood, nor tears.I pray that I may find the clarity of essential truth
that will ring like bells in a cathedral and return to me
in echoes of pure notes, that my words
will join a chorus of voices. I pray I will not fear
judgment or censure, be outcast, made the other.
When I cannot find strength or conviction,
I will be gentle and patient,
knowing the silence will be broken;
I pray for my voice and the courage to speak.LLL
3/6/12
Shouting from the Soapbox Series
Now more than ever, as the political climate becomes more repressive and authoritarian, and as the 2020 election for President approaches, it’s incumbent upon me to share my thoughts and opinions as a citizen, activist-essayist and ‘relational organizer’ working for social change. My intent is to make this a new series for Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! like the chronicle of my lived experience during the pandemic, in the Dispatch from the Hideout series.
I wrote about the end of my long-term committed relationship and musings about dating and finding love again in the series, Conversations w/My Next Girlfriend. Sometimes I simply write about topics that pique my interest in my Random Topics series, as described as follows:
“As a blogger, I mine my daily life for topics to write about. I set out to find something timely and meaningful, something that my readers can relate to, a universal message or lesson to discover in my lived experience. Another option is to choose a subject from the news of the day to comment on, however sometimes current events are tragically overwhelming.”
“I’m often left to choose from the mundane or subjects that pique my curiosity. When this happens, the only common theme is the randomness of my choices. Today, I offer three random topics with absolutely no connection or relation to each other at least that I’m aware of at the outset of this essay. Perhaps as I write, I may discover the subtle relationships that bind them together. Life is like that.”
As a cinephile, I review films that are featured in two series, A Filmgoers Guide to the Best Films of… an annual guide, and A Filmgoer’s Dispatch (or Takeaway, Wrap-up, Fandom) reviews of the annual Wisconsin Film Festival.
During the first year of Trump’s presidency, I drafted a six-part series, The Toilet Zone. I’ve moved three times in the past 12 years, and captured the experiences in The Moving Stories. I also write about common subjects and themes under different titles, including the changing of the seasons, the death and legacies of loved ones, journaling and blogging, and the Third Act of my life as I age.
Looking Ahead
Stay tuned for my soapbox oratories. First, my review of the RNC and comparison and contrast with last week’s DNC, and the upcoming 2020 election. I intend to cover topics about voter suppression, freedom of the press and assembly, the devolution of our democracy, the prosecution of high crimes and misdemeanors, our responsibility as citizens to vote and participate in government, and a message of hope for the future.
Additional Reading from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!
(Selections and links to my blog series)
Dispatch from the Hideout: Quarantine Bubble Edition
Conversations w/My Next Girlfriend: Episode 10
A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2019
A Filmgoer’s Wrap-Up: 2019 Wisconsin Film Festival
The Toilet Zone: Unhappy Anniversary
Related Viewing
Thanks as always for the mixed metaphors! Love, Lewis