Maslow and blogging

Eric frets about Percy being so public.

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Eric: Why even write a blog?

Percy: See it in terms of Maslow. Basic human needs are getting food, erecting shelter, making friends, At the top of this hierarchy of human needs is self expression. A need to make sense of the world, interpret reality, reach out for some kind of truth even.

Eric: Why do you have to publish it for all to see?

Percy: Sometimes it’s to avoid writing many letters about the same thing. Perhaps so friends can join the discussion.

Eric: Not everybody in the marketplace is a friend. You can’t control who reads your blog. If you write something foolish, and you apply for a job, you lose the job. Or worse, if you write something political, and an authority gets hold of it, you might be dragged off to a court, or prison.

Percy: It was always thus. Writing a book had the same dangers. FaceBook has the same dangers. Write for a public and learn from what they say.

Eric: What about crackpots and spies? The ones who flame you with random invective? The spies who twist what you say and turn you in for their own profit?

Percy: Approach politics as you would a basket of cobras. Don’t pillory real people. Write about ideas. Use multiple identities. Shift the location. Tell the stories through myth and fable. Montrez a courage mon ami.

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Voice-over

Whether you write a newspaper article, a book, post something on the Internet, make a speech, or shoot a film, if you go public with your thoughts, something may happen to you. Or it may not. What will it be? Silent agreement? Deafening ridicule? Or being asked to “step this way” at immigration?

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