A Historical Time for Bloggers

...and it's not about my coming back here. First things first, hiya everyone! Totally sorry for my first long absence: 3 weeks. I really miss ranting wildly about whatever stuffs writing about everything going on in my life, which may also concern you -or it may not, I don't care anyway. During that period, a lot of things transpired, like Paris Hilton's joining the US presidential race, Indonesia's cointinuing badminton legacy, Phelps' breaking records, Indonesia's 63rd Independence Day celebration, and whatever you can find in Yahoo! News.

Anyhoo, let's move on to the main topic. Bloggers - their (or perhaps our) voice counts. The Democratic National Committee realizes that it can reach a broader audience by recruiting bloggers into their publicity legion since blogs cater to a more specific group of people. Each state is represented by a blogger, and so are other demographic, if not made-up, groups. (An Argentinian cattle rancher, for example, serves the US expat community in Buenos Aires). There are 120 blogs with credentials from the Democratic Party; their bloggers have access to the convention floor in Pepsi Center, Denver, and they have the chance to follow the state delegations. Another 500 set up a huge tent outside as their own media center. Let's see the GOP use the "series of tubes" for their advantage.

Coming home to Indonesia, I think it is imperative that bloggers are empowered to stimulate Indonesian politics, develop thoughts, and give a boost to the coming elections. Of course, we can't really expect blogs flaunting their political stances outright like right- or left-leaning; liberal, conservative, or even centrist. Our political constellation doesn't really set those lines, which should make any person in his/her right mind to question the necessity of thirty-four parties. Oh wait, thirty-eight parties; forty four if you're in Aceh. Then again, we'll just have to make do with this outrageous situation. Blogs can participate in educating the public and in advancing political ideas because they are gaining more and more popularity among Indonesian net-goers. Furthermore, it will also promote tolerance between different views and political camps. No longer will there be useless uneducated debates with sentences more offensive than Habib Rizieq.

Viva Bloggers!