j'accuse

�It�s about building common positions, not winning arguments.� This is the informal slogan of the upcoming British presidency of the European Union. I like it. It summarises what I believe should be the underlying element of the new politics of the XXIst century. Some would call me idealistic. They would add this to other idiosyncracies that they have fabricated in the world of sterotypes that they like to believe they do not have.

A recent post by Immanuel Mifsud had the blogging community in a silent ferment. Whether misconstrued or not, the effect of the blog was interesting in itself. I still do not know what inspired Immanuel to define the �crepuscular elite�.

Nor do I understand why I got no answer to the post I typed in reaction. I might be making a mountain out of a molehill here but the solicitation of a number of other bloggers for an answer made me understand that I was not alone in feeling threatened (if that is the word) by this blog of classification. Then there were the first two comments to that post which confirmed my suspicion that the result of IM�s post would be segregation.

I had an afternoon of argument with Mark of Xifer. It is fun to argue with Mark because no matter how much we disagree there is a hidden understanding that outside the argument we can always share a drink together and that I can go on kicking his ass in FIFA 2005 or at pool or at Trivial... the list is endless. Our argument was just about the nature of some bloggers and their politics. It was also about these classifications and categorisations that tend to surface. The argument had no outcome or result. I only learnt that apparently I am Hegelian and that I fail to accept my rightist inclinations. Ah well. That�s strong coming from a wankellectual wannabe commie! (wink wink).

Meanwhile back to the blogs. Blogs are powerful. I have come to accept that. They are a powerful medium and will overtake the opinion columns in newspapers. I don�t mean reporting-wise but opinion-forming wise. Newspapers will go on to spout the latest press release from Reuters, but in the meantime more readers will subscribe to newslines and bloglines and read blogs. And react. Because that is the beauty of the blog. You can react. You can say that what the writer is saying is a load of bull or that you agree.

Ideas are exchanged. Ideas which are shared by many will gather ground. Opinion is formed and molded commonly out of real argument. And it does not matter if you are crepuscular, liberal or just a wanker like me. You have an opinion and so long as you keep out of ad hominem argumentation you can share and improve upon it.

Twanny was worried that the blogosfera would split after IM�s post. He might have perceived this categorisation as one that went too far. I almost agreed. But then upon reflection I understood this was one big wave in the shaping of this pool of ideas. Ideas that do not necessarily have to be the same. Bloggers do not have to agree on everything. It is the WAY of discussing, the WAY of agreeing that we will begin to pass on.

We have to escape from the dualism for the sake of dualism. We have to escape from dichotomous thinking. We have to learn to listen and say. Listen and say. The aim of an argument has to be to reach the common ground. The agreement. There are no victors at the end of a successful argument. On the other hand everyone is a victor.

The power of the blog is great, let�s use it wisely.

May the blog be with you.