"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." -- Arthur Koestler

This is the banner for a blog known as The Other McCain http://rsmccain.blogspot.com/and has been convicting me of cowardice since I saw it about a week ago. Another item I read in the same time-frame, I don't recall the source, mentioned that in general women seemed to avoid blogging on subjects that they felt would cause confrontation because the average women was much less comfortable in a confrontational situation than a man. I know that in my specific case this is true as I have wanted to keep politics out of my general blog for fear of the potential trolls that might be drawn to an otherwise practically unread blog.

As an intermediate step I had considered writing the whole truth of my observations and thoughts in my brand new, beautiful, magnetic closure, journal with my equally new, totally awesome, fountain pen that I love to write with. There was only one tiny problem. How is it any more bold and honest to write to myself in my very own private journal that might, if I am very very lucky, someday be read by someone else but will more likely end up in the trash at some future date? How does the fact that I support the people of Iran in their quest for more open and responsive government, or that I applaud the people of Honduras for apparently being the first in history to see the danger to their republic and do something legal about it make a difference when it is locked between the covers of my journal, no matter how pretty it may be? This is particularly the case as I don't know of any concrete help I can offer either people except to pray that justice prevails and they not grow weary in fighting for the truth to be known. How can I remain silent in the face of true heroism against real oppression?