The Purpose of the Bona Fide Blog

- So what is the point of the Bona Fide Blog? What does the Bona Fide Blog strive to do and what standard does it set for its writers? -

---

So what is the point of the Bona Fide Blog? Undoubtedly, many readers are probably skeptical of the purpose behind the blog, the intention of its writers, and why in the world it utilizes a Latin phrase in its title. In this post, I hope to articulate what the Bona Fide Blog purposes to do and the standard it has set for its writers.

Purpose #1) The Bona Fide blog seeks to discuss ideas in good faith to promote more civil and honest discourse.

Let my reader note the blog's title, "bona fide," Latin for "good faith." A "good faith" commitment is at the heart of why we write. It is how we vet content and select our topics. So what does this mean? It means we seek to uphold faithfully and to the best of our ability the bargain we make with our readers. So what exactly is this bargain? Plain and simple, it is to think, write, and discuss ideas well to promote more civic engagement and honest discourse.

This bargain sets a standard that, as a reader, you should always expect of us. Namely, readers can expect to engage with vetted, tested, and challenging ideas debated among our writers. Further, we invite you to vet, test, and challenge these ideas by responding to our posts! Disagreement and dissent are welcome since our writers, in good faith, are committed to facilitating a productive and meaningful conversation.

Our good faith bargain also dictates that our discussions demonstrate virtue, not controversy. Indeed, free discourse is not (for the most part) a pretty process and can come across as quite divisive. However, disagreement can be virtuous. Though this blog encourages a wide variety of views and ideas that clash rather than cohere, it is committed to maintaining civility. Ultimately, the Bona Fide Blog commits to upholding magnanimity for its opponent's positions and goodwill in whichever dialogue a writer commences. Caricatures of arguments, trolling, or causing mere controversy violate the bona fide commitment since they are not virtuous. On the contrary, we strive toward virtuosity which includes (but is not limited to) politeness, honesty, and openness to different viewpoints while remaining respectful when disagreement occurs.

If you perceive any inadequacy on our part, please comment, critique, and help us be even better! That is our good faith approach that I hope makes clear our intent and encourages you to engage with our content!

Now to the second of our purposes.

Purpose #2) The Bona Fide Blog seeks to encourage serious thinking amidst an unserious generation.

Sadly, most young people in America are enthralled with controversy (and its potential for internet virality), close-minded tribalism, and trolling at the expense of meaningful, effective dialogue. Typical discourse among most young people sounds, to borrow Neil Postman's phrase, like "baby-talk." Furthermore, with the advent of meme-culture and internet activism, most individuals rarely even talk to the ideological opponents they aim to disseminate their views! To press Postman's analogy, with social media, individuals are now baby-talking alone in a cradle of their design!

I am not saying that reading the Bona Fide Blog will save you from this disadvantage because you may be a lost cause (I'm kidding), but I do think it can at least help by challenging your typical way of thinking. To the point, however, by merely engaging with Bona Fide writers you are giving attention to the ideas that are serious. You are encouraging those who sincerely think and write while discouraging trivial discourse inflated in controversy or seated in sheer politicization.

Your engagement is encouraging and challenging. It helps our writers think even better about issues that deeply concern them. Ultimately, we hope you are also encouraged, challenged, and spurred in your thinking. Let the benefit be mutual and in good faith!

Conclusion:

It is important to conclude by discussing the benefit of prioritizing this good faith commitment in our national discourse. I find much of our political discourse to eschew good faith for good content, meaningful dialogue for provocation, and serious reflection for subscription-based marketing. The sad consequence is a sort of dichotomous thinking that erroneously turns intellectual opponents into societal enemies, blending the distinction between mistakenness and deceitfulness.

It is sad that most national sources do not act in good faith. Or, in other words, that they exploit the hidden tendency within the human heart to "tribalistically" attack each other over ideas. But deep down inside, we all possess this tendency in our hearts. This makes the good faith promise so important and dependent on anyone who reads our content.

We look to you to challenge us. We look to you to keep us in check. We look to you to uphold the bargain in good faith even when it is a mere movie review that you are reading. And we look to each other to write honestly in the Bona Fide Writers Society.

- DK

To return to our categories click here