{"id":1885,"date":"2012-02-15T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T10:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eatwithjoy.org\/?p=1885"},"modified":"2012-02-15T06:00:39","modified_gmt":"2012-02-15T10:00:39","slug":"whining-about-writing-writing-about-whining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/2012\/02\/15\/whining-about-writing-writing-about-whining\/","title":{"rendered":"Whining about Writing, Writing about Whining"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

May I whine for a moment, please? \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t pay attention to my stats, I know that. I shouldn\u2019t even look at them, because I will write what I\u2019m going to write no matter how popular or unpopular that\u2019s going to be. One of my favorite authors, Beverly Cleary (yes, the creator of Ramona!) early decided that she<\/p>\n

\u201cwould ignore all the trends\u2026and would not let money influence any decisions about my books.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Sage advice from one of the most popular and acclaimed children\u2019s book authors of the 20th century!<\/p>\n

Ready for my whine?<\/p>\n

Posts about hunger and poverty are far<\/strong> less popular than posts about, say, Audrey Hepburn<\/a> or Victoria\u2019s Secret Angels.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Or, for that matter, posts pointing a finger at what\u2019s wrong within evangelicalism.<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think it\u2019s because people don\u2019t care about poverty, or hunger, or preventable disease, or fair trade.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s because we feel powerless and\/or desensitized.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not powerless. Nor should we let ourselves be desensitized.<\/p>\n

Two readers shared snippets of poetry that relate to this:<\/p>\n

First, via Joyce, Audre Lord:<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHow much of this truth can I bear\/ to see\/ and still live\/ unblinded?\/ How much of this pain can I use?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, via Ellen, Wendell Berry:<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cExpect the end of the world.\/Laugh.\/Laughter is immeasurable.\/Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love<\/strong> these.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And so I propose to try to ignore all trends, all stats. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I just wish that the 15 children who died of preventable disease while you read this post would get a fraction of the attention that goes to Mark Driscoll, Lady Gaga, or Madonna\u2019s Halftime show.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Know what I mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May I whine for a moment, please? I shouldn\u2019t pay attention to my stats, I know that. I shouldn\u2019t even look at them, because I will write what I\u2019m going to write no matter how popular or unpopular that\u2019s going to be. One of my favorite authors, Beverly Cleary (yes, the creator of Ramona!) early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2070,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,23],"tags":[234,294,2659,704,1343,2022,2440,2502],"class_list":["post-1885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-children","tag-audre-lord","tag-beverly-cleary","tag-blogging","tag-discouragement","tag-justice-2","tag-sensationalism","tag-wendell-berry","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nWhining about Writing, Writing about Whining<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"May I whine for a moment, please? 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