Well, I'm back. I had a lot of fun, but let me state up front that the best thing was meeting the people I "know" on the conservative side, and having the delightful opportunity of meeting some gracious and very charming people from the other side of the aisle.
One of the reasons conferences like this are a good idea is that, when you meet someone who differs so much from you in their political stance, sometimes you make assumptions about their personal character and attitude that really aren't there. Well, at least, I do - sometimes. It is very good for me to see people face to face, chat with them, get to know them a little because then I see that for all our political differences we are still very much alike. And, realistically, political opinions are such a small part of someone's character that it's beyond stupid to extrapolate a whole EEEEEEeeeeevil Konspirator Kabal on the "other side" from that small bit of information.
Over the next few weeks, I'm hoping to reinstate my "Honorable Opponents" blogroll. Specifically, I want to add Virginia blogs from the "other" side of the aisle who are excellent bloggers and honorable people of good character. (Hey, I need all the good examples I can get!)
Hey, Conservatives, be quiet! There are a lot more of those bloggers than I bet any of us realize... on both sides. It would, perhaps, be a very good idea to check out our "opponents " blogs and look for things we agree on, rather than things to fight over. They may only be small things, but maybe it will help us to behave like civilized and gracious people instead of demonizing each other. Certainly, we can debate and discuss; but that little slice of agreement (heck, it may turn out to be a HUGE slice!) might help us focus on debating ideas, while we enjoy the people.
It was a wonderful trip, and I enjoyed myself immensely. There was a lot of information and viewpoints given, and we were all (that *I* saw) wonderfully civil and courteous. I had the great good fortune and honor to meet so many bloggers (and Lord help me if I forget anyone - my excuse is... aw, heck, I have no excuse... LOL):
(Oh, and BTW, I am *not* going to devolve into character assassination or sniping: I have absolutely no reason to do so. I didn't know what to expect, so I went expecting to meet interesting and intelligent people - and I did! My Mom taught me long ago that you often get what you expect, so set your expectations high - and then try to live up to them yourself. Therefore, I'm going to gush a bit [deal with it], but really, it was a great group of people I met.)
Waldo Jaquith - a very gracious and charming young man (I can say that: he's more than 10 years younger than I am, LOL), delightful to talk to, and enjoys hiking, Bluegrass music, and is recently married (his wife, too, is lovely and charming - our "Hostess," in fact). He looks rather like Hugh Grant, but is obviously much more intelligent and gracious. Wonderful conversationalist, and put me at ease immediately. He is a wonderful host (in the sense that he was kinda the blogger organizer guy, and not that he's the Sorenson representative), and made sure everyone felt comfortable.
Vivian Paige was at the same dinner table last night, and was delightful throughout the conference, adding so much to the discussions in the workshops. I am glad that she's based out of Virginia Beach oops Norfolk (as she corrects me in the comments), because now I have another blogger who's in my old stomping grounds (can I say that if I only lived there for seven years?). Before dinner, I had the opportunity to meet James Martin and Charlie Burnham from the Virginia Progressive. James just graduated High School and is looking to go into law (but he may slide into medicine, since it appears to run in the family [teasing, James! I'm teasing!]). Charles is planning to take the Virginia Bar Exam later in the summer (or was it in the Fall?). Both were well-spoken and engaging, had beautiful manners (yeah, that's important to a 40-something like me, LOL) and would be very welcome at my dinner table any time. Oh, and James likes cats! Therefore (signing the cross), I have decided that he's a Good-Guy-Even-If-Slightly-Misguided ;-)
Several of my conservative friends were there, Nickfinity of the Jefferson Mammoth, Rick Sincere (who very gently and kindly reminded me that this was a political conference, when I was whining a little at lunch that I was a bit tired of politics - thanks, Rick!), Jon Henke of QandO, Norm Leahy of One Man's Trash, Chris Green of Spank That Donkey, Shaun Kenney, and... oh, goodness, I know I'm missing someone.
No one, of course, looked like I imagined them - they all looked younger, instead of being wise and elegant grey-beards, LOL. Jon Henke in particular: I expected him to be at least 45-ish. Nevertheless, appearances aside, these political heavyweights of the Virginia Blogosphere were very gracious to me, the little n00b poli-blogger. Of course, I'm really a life-blogger who delves a bit into politics, but the point remains. Jon complimented me on a remark I made about personal responsibility this morning in the Ethics and Blogging workshop, which was very kind, and I send thanks his way yet again. Chris strikes me as an energetic powerhouse (I know, it's redundant) in real life, Rick is very kind and knowledgeable, Norm kinda felt like a high school buddy that you've known forever and has had incredible success (I'm still smiling at James Martin's reaction, Norm, to learning you were... YOU!). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to chat with Nick or Sean due to the time constraints of the conference. But then, being a chick, I can talk all day with people and never find out enough about who they are...
Other bloggers... Um, I met Josh from Raising Kaine, and I can't remember if it was him or Brian Patton who paid me the lovely compliment last night of saying that they liked CatHouse Chat because it was so... diverse? (I think that's the word they used...) I met Max Fenton, to whom I gave a lift from Bodo's Bagels to the conference this morning - he gave me a few HTML suggestions for learning how to design webpages. I met Jennifer McKeever and chatted music-blogging with her on the way to dinner last night.
I didn't meet Kenton Ngo, but he was asking some excellent questions all throughout the conference; I hope the Munchkin is as thoughtful and involved when she turns fifteen! Steven Sisson, of Blue Dog, was there and we exchanged a few words - there's another guy who strikes me as very much the energetic powerhouse. I got a couple of good pics of him with Lt. Gov. Bolling that I need to send him. F. T. Rea (SLANTblog) and I exchanged a few words as the conference ended and I really need to swing by and read his blog; he's a guy who is almost like a Jack of all trades (and stop right there - don't complete the phrase, LOL), with a great mix of subjects and interests.
Two bloggers I met, Mark Brooks, of Heartland of Virginia, and Lisa, of Honesty Counts, were especially nice to meet. Mark was taking pictures (far more than I did, for which I'm still kicking myself) and has a couple of me that he said he'd send - and they were very good! I also need to ask him for some of the links he has about blogging and campaign finance issues, etc. Lisa is an educator, and seemed to me to be a neat lady to have as a friend. Both were a delight to talk to - and have a fondness for good scones (hi, guys!).
I know that my commentary is quite heavy in favor of the left side of the aisle, but I spent a lot of time surrounded by my soi-disant "opponents," and I found them quite engaging and fun. No, this won't change my mind about most issues, but now it's far easier to relate to them as people instead of opposing positions. As I said, I think this will help us all to have more civilized, gracious, and productive debates - because, when I've met someone, and like them, it helps me stop and think before I get into a dispute.
To my conservative/right-of-center buddies: I wish there had been more of us there (if only so I could have met more of you)! Admittedly, a lot of the problem was this weekend's timing, but I thought that there was quite a bit of very pertinent and useful discussion from everyone. We are all citizens of this Great Experiment, and with all the bile and derision of the past few years between the two parties, it would behoove us all to learn how to exercise courteous discourse.
No, not all parties (on either side) of the Virginia Blogosphere specialize in snark and sniping, but it should be near the front of all of our minds, so that we ALL make every effort to understand the other side, and explain our position with respect and consideration.
Yeah, I know: I dream. But a very wise man once said, "I have a dream..."
