Love letters...

I write here to inform, educate, vent, gripe, celebrate, commiserate, and more.  I hope that what I write causes people to think about the things going on in Arizona and engage in civil discussions on the best ways to address the issues facing the state.

Yes, there's more than a bit of ego involved in blogging. :)

However, I'm not naive.  I fully realize that not everyone feels that way, and they usually let me hear about it in a comment here.  On rare occasions however, I receive a direct message from a reader.

From a reader email, unedited and in its entirety-

New Englander, GO HOME

Massachusetts... that tiny blue state where Ted Kennedy, in a drunken stupor abandoned a woman to drown and Mitt Romney brought the state to near bankruptcy with his Pre-Obama Health Care for all. New Englander, why don't you return? Seems the politics in MA are more to your liking. Return to the land from which you came for its obvious you do not wish to become an Arizonian but hope to make our home more to your liking -

V.
--

“Privacy is a major element of freedom, without which people and nations cannot remain free.” – George Orwell, 1984

My response wasn't eloquent, but since eloquence isn't exactly my stock-in-trade, that's not a big deal.  :)

Mr. V,

Just a few points -

1. I *am* home, and have been for nearly 17 years.

2. I *am* an Arizonan. I love my state, in spite of (and occasionally because of) its imperfections. Because of that love, I want the state to be a better place for everybody, and am willing to work toward that goal.

3. I *do* occasionally miss New England. Like on Opening Day at Fenway, and the first weekend in the fall when you can drive into the mountains of New Hampshire to view the absolutely spectacular foliage. Other than those times, my perspective on the subject can be summed up in four words - "Ya don't shovel sunshine."

4. Arizona is a lot closer to bankruptcy than Massachusetts, and one party has been running the show here for a couple of generations now. And it isn't the Democrats.

Thank you for writing.

The writer used a pseudonym, but since that pseudonym is known within the AZ blogosphere and I don't know that the person who wrote the note is also the person who posts and comments on posts under that name, I've decided not to publicize the pseudonym.
BTW - a couple of points that I didn't make in the reply to the note -

1.  One of the reasons that I love Arizona is that it provides would-be political commentators like me *oodles* of material to work with.  While Massachusetts' political scene has some parallels to Arizona's (it's certainly no less corrupt, unfortunately), it offers nowhere near the level of utter insanity that Arizona does.

2.  It doesn't speak well of me, but while I derive great joy (and yes, a little pride, too) when someone learns something new from one of my posts, I also derive great joy (and yes, a little pride, too) when I simply get under someone's skin.

I'm feeling great joy right now.  :))

Good night!