The beauty of blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools is the equality and freedom it provides for all voices to be heard. As with all freedoms, it can be misused, abused or simply overused. (I really don’t need to follow your life minute by minute.) But take some time to surf some blogs, and you’ll find a rich and diverse collection of voices from all genders, ages, education levels and cultural back-grounds. The internet can be a great equalizer. It gives all a chance to share original thoughts or respond to the larger voices in our society.
For most Catholics, our experience of church centers on the Sunday Mass. There isn’t any dialogue in our liturgy, except for the back and forth of formulaic prayer responses. The only personal voice is that of the priest during the homily. There isn’t much dialogue in the writing of documents or formulation of rubrics that come from Diocesan offices or Vatican congregations. There is little opportunity to stand up and respectfully state, “Yes, but…”
Writing gives me an opportunity to put flesh on that “Yes, but….” voice inside me. Blogging gives my “Yes, buts” an opportunity to be heard. Reading other blogs gives me an opportunity to hear all the other “Yes, but” voices out there as they respond to religious, political and cultural issues, the events of the day, or topics that feed their own souls.
The days of monologues by those holding power are gone. The doors of dialogue have been opened, and the holders of power are becoming more and more powerless in closing them. The “Yes, but” voices of the church and the world will no longer be silenced.
catholic dialogue 
Yes, but…a lot of us who voice the Yes, buts are really “closet dissidents” who don’t want the notoriety of REALLY confronting the establishment. We are satisfied to play in the shadows and be among our own groupies where we feel affirmed and comforted. Those who write more publicly are our heroes for it is still a scary place to be (for some of us wusses!).
From one wuss to another, I couldn`t agree with you more Marceta. My heroes are the bloggers at the National Catholic Reporter. I also enjoy reading the discussion boards after their articles, though am often shocked by the nasty tone of some. And, the nastiest and loudest voices are usually posted by the ever-present `anonymous`. So cowardly. Yet, here I am in my quasi-anonymous comfort. Hmmm…..off to do some thinking….
I think your blog is a great start to opening up the conversation at the grass roots. It allows all of us to “dip our toe” into a more public venue without jumping into the limelight and getting creamed by the nastiness of “anonymous.” Thanks for the opportunity!