A review of ground previously covered
Once more with feeling...
Especially after my last entry here, but in general anyway, I don't like to address the subject of my own credentials as a blogger.
But once again, I'll address the subject. Not in response to anything or anyone in particular, but simply to clarify how I see my purpose here, and to possibly dispel any unwarranted conclusions or rumors.
I have been called many things...some of which I can share here, and some I cannot. Because of what I do for Southern Gospel News, and the posting I do for various message boards devoted to gospel music, I am referred to at times as a "historian".
True, gospel music history is one of my primary avocations...and it's a subject I've spent a lot of time and energy devoting myself to learning, and I think I have learned a lot of it...and I've been given a gift to impart what I've learned to others, which makes me very grateful.
But I've never been into titles...when someone who enjoys what I've shared from what I've had the pleasure to learn over a period of many years showers me with accolades, besides being grateful that I could be of service in that way, I tend to wonder why I'm given the rather lofty-sounding title of "historian". My response at heart is the same that the famous baseball announcer Vin Scully gave to the media when he signed yet another contract to do the play-by-play of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, which he has done now for the past 56 years.
Scully said, "All I've ever done for all these years is talk about the accomplishments of others."
And that's all I do in my history articles, in my message board postings, in correspondence with other people, and in conversations with my friends...I just talk about what other very gifted people have done, and why they should be appreciated.
If that makes me a "historian", so be it. Maybe "reporter" or "chroncler" might be a bit more accurate, but neither may sound as lofty or important as "historian", so for the benefit of those who want to give me a lofty compliment...I'll take "historian" grudgingly.
For I'm not a keeper of history as much as I'm a reporter of things I think are important to report to people. I can't(or won't)speak for others who are called "historians" for the same reasons...but that is how I see myself. It truly is a humble calling I have, and since I have no reason not to be humble, I'm eminently qualified for what I do in that respect!:-)
On another topic, I do tend when doing what I do to express an opinion or two about what I see...this blog is the main place I do it, but I do it elsewhere as well. And in so doing, some wonder what makes me qualified to be a "critic".
The answer to that is, it takes no qualifications whatsoever to be a "critic". All of us are inherently "critics"...grnated, a background in whatever subject you're expressing an opinion on may or may not give you more credibility as a critic, but as far as being an actual "critic" goes, we're all born that way! We all have opinions, and we all express them at one time or another!
Some of us are fortunate to have public outlets to express such opinions...some of us don't, for one reason or another. And some of those opinons are factually correct, and some of them not. But we are all enititled to have and express those opinions, regardless of their correctness or not.
Are my opinions correct? Well, at the time I express them, I think they are...otherwise, they wouldn't be my opinions!! Are they after further reflection? Sometimes yes...and sometimes no. Do I mean to offend others in expressing those opinions? Of course not...at least the majority of the time, anyway!:-) I'm just expressing myself, and the last time I checked, it's legal to do that.
As to whether I'm doing the right things to those I'm expressing my opinions toward, that is always an open question. But I always take full responsibility for the consequences of my behavior, and in the end, that's all any of us can do. And ultimtately, we ALL do that.
So if anything I've ever said on this blog or on a message board or in one of my articles or even on the air, doing live radio, has offended any of you, for that, I apologize. Do I apologize for my opinions? More than likely, not. I can't help what I honestly feel...but the way that I react to it probably will need work as long as I live!
Would that be cause for denying me access to avenues of fellowship or association? That's a question for God and the readers to decide...in each individual case.
And as for cases, I rest mine...again...for now.
Posted on Jan 13, 2007 - 02:31 PM | [0]
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