It begins... again, part 2

In my first post, I proposed a triumvirate question that should be asked by anyone who chooses to write. The premise of this query is the oft-quoted, rarely-cited dictum that "Not everything that is thought should be said; not everything that is said should be written; not everything that is written should be published". As I digressed from this original topic over the course of my first post, I would like to address it directly at this time.

My primary purpose in expressing my thoughts is to better enunciate them to myself. By writing them down, I am forced to polish, explain, and, if need be, mentally defend them as I give them a tangible form. Although these tasks can as easily be accomplished in my head, allowing them a physical manifestation gives them greater permanence, so that these thoughts will be more readily available to me for future use, at some time that I may choose to ponder or discuss these thoughts in the future.

Do I desire to share these thoughts with other people? A facet of human nature is the desire to have some impact on one's environment, rather than being a closed system unto oneself. If I post a statement on this blog, it means that I would like others either to be somehow changed by it or to correct me, to revert any negative changes that having such a viewpoint may have caused me. The public nature of the internet precludes me from posting anything that I would not want to be ultimately revealed, but on the other hand, I do not expect others to view my blog as something worth reading moreso than the million other blogs floating in cyberspace, so will focus on my individual impetus for blogging, as stated in the previous paragraph.

Why do I want to influence people? From an altruistic standpoint, because, like everyone else, I feel that my ideas and opinions have positive results that others should benefit from. From a practical standpoint, others have an effect on me, so by having a positive effect on them, I make it more likely that their effect on me will similarly be positive. This concept can be expressed as creating a community for oneself.

This post probably seems a bit puffed-up in certain places, but it only expresses what I perceive to be truisms inherent in human nature, and not facets that are unique to myself.