Blogging Fatigue

So, as Obo the Clown fucks off in the blogging afterlife (for how long, no-one knows - I suspect that, like many bloggers, he won't be able to stay away from the blogging world for too long) and a whole host of posts appear about the apparent decline of the right-wing blogosphere (at least compared to the left), I drift towards writing one of those tedious posts. Yep, I'm going to do it. I'm going to blog about blogging.

See, I think sometimes we forget that for the vast majority of bloggers, this is a hobby. It is a venture done in their free time for no remuneration whatsoever*. Sure, you can argue that they choose to do so and there's no promise that when you start blogging, you're going to make any money whatsoever. But it also means that if someone's work life becomes busier, or their interactions with the real world become more time-consuming, then it will be the blogging that suffers.

But there is also the fatigue that comes if you are a Libertarian blogger. Because, despite the result of the General Election in May, very little has changed from a Libertarian perspective. Labour bloggers can get excited about now being able to attack, which is why there's a rise in the prominence of leftie type blogs. The Tories can celebrate, knowing they're back in power, and that's probably why their bloggers have either shut up shop or become less than essential reading for many. But for Libertarian bloggers, nothing has changed. The government is still the problem, since what divides Labour and the Con-Dems is dwarfed by the fundamental statist assumptions they all share. We've got another five years of statism to endure, and no guarantee at all that there will be any meaningful change after the next election.

So I reckon Libertarian bloggers might be dropping out of the blogging world not because they are closet Tories (although some clearly are), but rather because of the overwhelming sense of fatigue that comes from knowing that we're going to be making the same points to a new group of people who believe that everything is going to be better because the football team party they support happens to be in power. It's a bit like Groundhog Day, but with stakes somewhat higher than the sanity of a fictional character depicted by Bill Murray.

And I feel this fatigue - I feel it every time I hear a lie, or a fabrication, or a fresh piece of idiocy emerge from the gobs of politicians of every party in this country. When I hear phrases like "growth deniers", "Robin Hood Tax", "tax on banking bonuses", "marriage incentives", "National Service", "Burqa Ban" and all the other terrible shit that is spouted by centrist, statist politicians searching for a positive headline. And it is only the rage at their self-serving pomposity and egregious ignorance that allows be to continue with this blog despite that often overwhelming feeling of fatigue.

So for what it's worth, this blog isn't going anywhere...

*I will confess that while I've been blogging I've received donations totaling £30 and a free Cure album. Which is very nice, but not enough to sustain me for too long. If you'd like to increase the profitability of this blog, then there's a donate button in the side bar.