Opening Statements
First words from the writer
Historically, I’ve struggled when it comes to introductions.
I can’t always find the right words in the moment; and in a crowded setting, there’s the question of who I should approach among the unfamiliar faces.
When my words can be easily lost amid a sea of online discourse, it’s even more important that I get them right — though with writing, I can take more than a moment to refine what I say.
And while the crowd I’m facing now could conceivably exceed any physical space, I feel less distressed because I don’t directly perceive most of them. Also, people here will probably be seeking me out willingly, which means I can expend less energy determining who to address and more deciding how I would address them.
So, seeing as you’ve taken time to make it to this point, it may be best to simply state my purposes directly.
Get Matthew Robinson’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
For the last few decades, I’ve largely been existing in the background, making observations and accumulating insights while the world has whirled around me.
But now, when certainty seems sorely lacking , the time appears right for me to share the understandings at which I’ve arrived, in hopes that others might benefit from hearing them.
Just what do I plan to discuss? Various aspects of human conditions — internally and externally speaking — with special focus on American experience (mainly owing to my knowledge of the subject matter). My writing will likely come across as philosophical, but I’ll endeavor to keep it approachable — it’s no good spreading ideas that no one can grasp, after all.
And not to sound hyperbolic, but I wonder whether some of these ideas might be quite revolutionary, could have far-reaching consequences. Or perhaps I’m underestimating how much others know and am just stating the obvious; I can’t easily tell.
You all, of course, are free to read and judge for yourselves.
If you feel the things I say are total nonsense, then I presume you have reasons for feeling that way. You could explain those reasons to me, or we can just part company right then.
If instead you find my words enlightening or relatable, then I hope you feel rewarded for partaking of them.
