Posted by Hello! I’m OhioRealist and my first name is Greg.
I’m a truck driver in Ohio and I’m approximately 3 years away from retirement. I was motivated to start this blog by the anger I felt after the mass shooting in Parkland Florida on February 14, 2018. In a state of complete anger, I telephoned Jeff, my friend of 27 years, and asked him if he would be interested in writing a blog with me that, among other things, would speak out against our gun insanity here in the United States. I told him I felt that I was sitting on my hands and needed to do something – anything – to help stop the madness in our country because of our gun-worshipping culture. Jeff listened to me until I was finished and then to my great surprise and happiness, he said ‘Yes, let’s do it!!” Jeff is BrookingsLib on this site, my co-founder and co-writer.
For the next few months we exchanged ideas and together we gradually gained a clear focus on what our blog would look and sound like. We played with some names and eventually Jeff came up with the great title we’d go with…. On The Fence Voters! We made it a Dot Com and now we’re off and running!
About me specifically…
I’m a realist. I have no use for anything which is not true or which can’t survive scientific scrutiny. I’m a realist to the point where I’m agnostic and sometimes even atheist, neither of which should alarm you if you’re a religious person. Agnosticism has a very long and complex definition, but for me it’s very simple – it means that I simply ‘don’t know’ about life’s ultimate questions, and I can’t I do with an uncomfortable faith in supernatural beings. I become atheist the moment I say, “I don’t believe there’s a god”, (for atheism is all about how one believes.) I become agnostic whenever I admit that I simply don’t know for sure. Agnosticism always seems to win in the end for me because it recognizes the uncertainty I feel. Atheism is usually bit too confident for me… but I am close to being atheist… really close.
I mention all this because how I feel in these areas determine my political positions, and On The Fence Voters is a political blog. I will do my best to keep my religious view out of my writing, except where I feel they must supply reasons for what I’m saying. Generally, your religion is your business… that’s how I feel. If it gets you through your life in a happy way without bringing unhappiness to others, great!
My Avatar, I want to mention, is not original. It’s from a painting by artist Ralph McQuarrie which was used on the cover of Robot Visions, a collection of stories and essays by the late Isaac Asimov, a person I greatly admire. I used this cover art both to show my admiration for Asimov and also the way I view myself in the world and our universe… a man of thought, uninfluenced by faith or superstition.
I’m an amateur photographer, and not really a sports fan (although I like it when I see the Cleveland teams finally win!) I love my United States of America, but I detest excess patriotism. I believe that to be good and responsible citizens, folks must be critical of the USA in order to keep it on the right track.
I’m not a fan of Donald Trump and his ideas, morals, principles, policies, motivations and his entire administration… let me just end it there let our blog say the rest.
I wish happiness and peace in your life!
— OhioRealist
On The Fence Voters 