The recently concluded federal election and the change of government seems like a good point at which to stop and evaluate the results, the outcomes and the reasons. I stepped away from the blog to take a break, and to ask myself a few questions. Although there are several issues related to this election that need to be discussed, my focus here is on specific aspects. I am sharing my reflections in this two-part post.
Years ago, Catallaxy files (Cat2 – Sinclair’s blog) was one of my bookmarked sites and I would check it out, regularly. I learnt a great deal from the many posters and commenters. Then, I decided to stop being just a lurker and taking in what others were contributing. I joined in the discussions by also sharing what I was learning, from other sources. I had entered the site as a mere newbie – after all, many of the regulars were those who had been on the blog, since before Noah built the ark.
I would come in when I was able to, and contributed what I could. Two years ago, I sensed that the next federal election was going to be a critical one, and that something needed to be done. I did not have any answers or spare time to get into anything, but I knew that sitting back and doing nothing wasn’t an option. It was not something that I had planned, but I thought that as it was a centre-right blog with mostly conservatives, there was already an available band of people with common ideals. I wondered, aloud, if we could get together and form a group such as a Catallaction Club. I thought that since there seemed to be so much passion in the comments that were posted, there would be a few interested Cats. The response to my query was a couple of tentative yeas, but no serious interest. I made a few attempts, but there were no takers. However, there were the naysayers, as well as a few snarky replies. There was nothing more I could do in a club, as a solo member.
I have no ladder-climbing ambitions; political or otherwise. Just a nagging sense that I have to do something more than post comments and whinge about the bad state of everything in the country and the world. I had hoped that if there were a few responsive Cats, we could form an online group where no one would need to reveal their real identity. Have “meetings” from the comfort of our homes and throw in suggestions about ways in which we could get involved in doing something, in whatever small way possible. Whoever had the skills for leadership, could take over. I had only one rule: leave your ego at the door. Nothing good can be accomplished if we focus on personal agendas and emotions.
Then, Cat2 closed down and we had a new blog, Cat3 (Adam’s blog). In a post, Adam mentioned something that gave me an idea. So I sent him an email with my suggestions. He was interested in it but, unfortunately, was very busy with the personal issues in his life, so it got put on hold. I picked it up with him later, and we started some work on it, but again he needed to get back to other priorities. I had a plan in my head but I did not have the technical/software skills to implement it. But with advice and some tips from Adam, I was able to put together a basic version, to start off. This was the CatWiki. With better resources and technical expertise, it can be improved, but it was a foundation from which a database could be built.
What is the purpose of the wiki?
The Catallaxy blog comprises a group of mostly like-minded people. Which is great. It helps us to know that there are others like us, and keeps us sane in this increasingly mad world. We share and we learn, which is all well and good. But we occupy this globe with many who have been brainwashed by the MSM. Some are too evil and/or stupid; they are beyond hope. But there are those who are gullible and ignorant. It is possible for the mindset of these people to be changed, if they learn the facts. But how will they get to that point? All they know is how to hold the remote control and switch from one brainwashing channel to another, or turn the radio dial from one station to another. If we tell them that they don’t know the truth and they need to find the evidence for themselves, we are not helping them. How are they supposed to find these facts?
They go to Google. Type in the Search box: Climate Change or Covid or Ukraine war.
The results will be exactly what MSM has been telling them. So they will conclude that they are getting the facts from the television, radio, newspapers or internet. There are times when I am trying to fact check something that I have come across, and the first few results are from snopes.com or Politifact telling me whatever CNN would be telling me.
How will these MSM-gullible people get to the truth? We need to help them. We need to provide them with a few good links. Once they reach the point where they realise that they have been duped by the media, they will then take up their own searches. But we have to – metaphorically– hold their hands and get them to this turning point.
That was the purpose of the CatWiki. Education. To put together good links and information on the major topics, and once there is enough data, we can then give anyone who shows an interest in wanting to know the truth, that one link to the CatWiki. That would be their starting point. What they did after that is up to them. If you pass the link to ten people, maybe three or four will click on it, and maybe just one may end up learning from it. But that one has turned away from the opposite side. One less brainwashed person, who could then go on to unbrainwash their families and friends. The wiki could also be used by us as a quick reference for facts and figures, if we are having a debate with someone from the other side and have to prove our point with the proof.
Nice as it is to be here in a comfortable group of like-minded people, we are preaching to the converted. But converting one of the global warming or Covid hoax believers, takes us one tiny step closer to exposing the Great Reset agenda.
I am thankful to the few Cats who posted a few comments on the CatWiki. Otherwise, it was left to me to keep it updated, and with limited time, it has been difficult. The Open Thread is good for the real time news but once it moves to the next thread, the good material, by way of information and links, is lost. All it takes – if one has some good sources with details on the listed topics – is to post it in the relevant CatWiki section and double post in the Open Thread, too. We don’t need to overwhelm the new convert by giving them too much information or opinions, just the very good links from reliable sources. To whet their appetite, so they will keep seeking more facts and less fake.
We are all busy people – we have families, jobs, commitments, priorities and personal battles to deal with in our lives. However, one day, we will wake up and discover…….. it is too late. We did not have time to fight the battles. Then, it will be too late because the war has been won by the other side. Occasionally whinging, complaining, ranting about the way things are, is good. It helps get a load off the chest. But if that is all we do, what is the point?
I don’t come to the blog because I have a social need to meet and chat with a clique of select commenters, and interact only with them. I come to learn from others and to share with others what I know, and hope in some way, what we do together makes a small change for the better.
[Continued in Part 2]