A Contradiction of Words.

I thought it prudent that, in starting a new blog, one should say a brief "hello" to begin. I figured a good place to start would be to tell you a little about myself and why I am here, in my room, typing into the blogosphere this very second. 

My name is George. I'm British. I study BSc Politics at the University of Surrey in Guildford. 

I read quite a lot (aided, perhaps, by the 50% discount that comes as a perk of being a Waterstones Bookseller), and I like to think I read widely. I'm fascinated especially by history and political philosophy, and I like to read highfalutin literary monstrosities when I can, but I have a soft spot for the odd trashy work of fiction now and again (don't we all?). 

I'm no newbie to the "blogging" scene: I started an awkward, vaguely horrific blog in 2009 about my holiday to the US. All very quaint, I suppose, but of what interest was my 14-year-old foreign expeditions to anyone? (The answer is none whatsoever.) 

So why start another blog? I think a lot, perhaps because I read a lot and study avidly. But those thoughts need to go somewhere, or else I should spontaneously combust in a flurry of stifled, opinionated rants. 
More than that, however, is the fact that a coherent blog is the only worthwhile way of cataloguing and expressing such thoughts. I confess that I do run a Tumblr "blog" if you can call it that. Certainly the big T is a great place to express creativity, to build self-esteem and foster global friendships; but Tumblr is not really an appropriate arena for expressing opinions. Truth be told, the Tumblr community is often vindictive, intolerant and frighteningly zealous when it comes to opinions that don't match a particular criteria of moral or political correctness. As such, it is not my desire to express the serious thoughts I harbour in any coherent way on Tumblr exclusively. Thus I am here, with a "real blog", like an émigré of the French Revolution. 

Given my interests, I envision that I will be writing frequently about politics and social issues. But really this is a space reserved for thoughts about anything and everything that piques my interest enough for me to want to write about it. 

I do not profess to be an expert on anything I post. I am, after all, a mere undergraduate. I've been told by many that I speak well and that my perspective interesting and worthwhile, and I hope that you will think the same (if anyone actually bothers to read this, at least). 

To round off, I will take the liberty of explaining the title of this blog. "A contradiction of words?" That doesn't bode well for a blogger who wants to lay out his thoughts coherently, I agree. This is actually a quote taken from Jean-Jaques Rousseau, one of the philosophes of the 18th Century Enlightenment. In his most famous work, The Social Contract (1762), in a footnote, Rousseau remarks at a confusing point in his narrative, "Please, attentive reader, do not hasten to accuse me of contradiction. I cannot avoid a contradiction of words, because of the poverty of language." 

I think it a fitting appellation, for as we grow, and our minds do, our opinions and thoughts grow and change, too. Consider this, then, not a contradiction of words and thoughts, but merely the expressions of a progressing mind prevented, by the poverty of language, from expressing oneself with utter perfection. 

I look forward to writing for you!