My new friend and fellow Areopagite Phil Cubeta is dragging me kicking and screaming, "do I have time for this?!!" onto the dance floor to learn "the Blog." It's an intriguing, if somewhat strange, dance. Apparently I have all the tools it requires--a computer, a fast internet hook-up, an account at typepad, a keyboard, and something to say. Well, we'll see whether I actually have the final ingredient on the list.
I shared with Phil a favorite quotation from Flannery O'Connor:
"Everywhere I go I'm asked if the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them."
I take comfort in the fact that I can practice in relative anonymity until I'm a bit more confident about the steps. At least I'm not wasting any paper during the process!
Phil and I share an interest in philanthropy, more specifically, in better understanding, promoting, and encouraging effective philanthropy. For several years I have been working quietly with a growing interdisciplinary group of scholars, encouraging them to think more about the role of voluntary action and philanthropy. We have begun with rather big conceptual questions, re-examining the prevailing understanding of philanthropy's role in a free society from the perspective of a variety of academic disciplines. Some of our initial reflections are captured at The Philanthropic Enterprise.
Phil informs me that what our website sorely needs is a way for others to engage us in conversation. Since we welcome that and are especially interested in thinking about how digital technologies will impact voluntary action and philanthropy in the years ahead, it seemed a good time to accept Phil's gracious offer to be my Blog Tutor. Arthur Murray, watch out!