Grits and Trees, for the last few years at least, has operated as a private blogging website that I have used mostly for keeping religious and meditation journals.  As such, until today, it was password protected and inaccessible to anyone other than myself.  I have decided that it was time to re-purpose this web space to a personal and family blog that can serve to keep distant friends and family connected with what is going on with Justin, Julian, and I. There are, of course, professionally designed websites dedicated to just that purpose but the events of the last couple of years have left me increasingly uncomfortable with spending utilizing those websites.

Facebook, for example, has openly stated that it will allow politicians to openly lie without any form factchecking or consequence.  It was also the organizing hub for the incredibly racist and violent Boogaloo Boys as well as several other rightwing white supremacist groups.  While it is true that no space on the internet in safe from misinformation and disturbing ideologies; it is also true that I can express my dissatisfaction by minimizing my contact with Facebook and other similar social networking platforms. 

I was never a huge presence on Facebook, social networking is definitely Justin’s bailiwick, so I doubt that this is going to be a particularly well read endeavor but at the very least no one will be able to claim that I am not making an effort to communicate.