Tom Kawczynski - Off the Record

I haven't written in a few days.  I've been thinking more than talking.

You know, when I was a child, I was extremely quiet.  I felt like I shouldn't talk about anything unless I was sure of my answers.  Being a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, I've learned that you never really know anything for certain.  We all have beliefs that we cling to like rocks in an uncertain storm, and these are truth enough, but only for each of us.

In many ways, it is like that again.  I'm walking a path that no one else is seriously trying, and it is a challenging thing.  There is an intellectual honesty that is required in being both a political actor and an ethicist.  I'm proud of the latter, determined in the former, and come to realize there are many things that exist that don't make sense for more reasons than expediency.

I have commented on that often, and I'm sure I'll do again in the near future.  But it is Thanksgiving, and I want to share something for which I am grateful.  I'm glad that I have the ability to think, the opportunity to change my mind, and that each of us, ultimately has the choices to shape our world around us.

People convince themselves so readily of their own helplessness, and it simply isn't true.  We all make mistakes and find ourselves in situations that make us question how we got there, but there is always another tomorrow and a chance for redemption or renewal.  I believe that, and in spite of being sarcastic at times, I find I'm still strangely an optimist at heart.  It just doesn't show as easily as it once did.