Portrait of an Inheritor as a Young Man

So, welcome to Inherit the fire. There's a few basic subjects that any decent introductory post should cover. Where the blog came from, why, what the putative subject is, and who the blogger(s) are.

Well, where this blog came from is easy enough. I was reading about "Inherit the Wind", and thinking about this significance of it. It then crossed my mind that "Inherit the Fire" would be a good name for a political blog. While I was chatting with Alpicola over AIM, no less. On top of that, I've been wanting to get into blogging somewhat more serious than LiveJournal, and this seemed like a good opportunity. I've also been wanting to exercise my writing abilities more, and a blog seemed a good way to do so.

I chose fire as a central theme. It works on a number of levels. First, I have a bit of a flare for the dramatic. Second, fire is a potent symbol, and covers many things relevant to politics. Fire, when tamed, represents a creative force, birth, purification, knowledge, illumination, inspiration, wisdom, and power. When untamed, it represents burning passions, destruction, death, torture, danger, and again, power. Fire is one of the oldest and most potent symbols known to man, and it seemed appropriate for one of the oldest activities known to man: politics.

Third, I am a very political person. I have any number of strong opinions, many of which are likely to come out in future posts. My passion for politics comes in large part from my parents, who are also highly political people. When I was old enough to grasp the subjects, they were often quite happy to discuss or argue politics with me, my father in particular. One could say that I inherited a political inclination from them

Fourth, and most humorously, my family has a bit of a pyromaniacal streak in it. According to my aunts, it would appear to include both my father and myself.

I've touched on the subject already, so I might as well introduce myself. I'm Kalium. Aged 21 at the writing of this post. I was born in Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I grew up and went to school in Battle Creek, attending Harper Creek High School and the Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center. Upon graduation, I was admitted to the University of Michigan College of Engineering, where I am currently studying Computer Science. So, my specialty, per se, is in computers. That said, I'm a hopeless information junkie, and can be relied on to know at least something about most subjects. I was, am, and probably always will be a shameless and utterly unrepentant geek.

Since it inevitable crops up as a topic, I'll address my religious state as well. My parents are moderately observant Reform Jews. My father's family is all Jewish, of varying levels of piety and widely varying sects. My mother's family is a complicated tangle of Catholics, Luterans, Methodists, and probably several other flavors that I find it impossible to keep track of. As a result, I was raised vaguely as a secular Reform Jew, but with significant exposure to other schools of thought. I've taken a good deal of those lessons to heart, but not the theism. I am, in many ways, an atheist. Specifically, a nontheist, meaning a lack of positive belief in a god.

Now, the purpose of this blog. As I've stated before, it's political (thus, the 'politics' in the description). Alpicola and myself are both very political people. I enjoy discussing politics, and become very passionate about the subject. I tend to flare up when politics is the subject at hand (thus, the 'passion). Well, since I've known him, Alpicola has rapidly become one of my favorite people to face down over an issue. We disagree on a lot of subjects, and this blog will be a good place to exchange political arguments in something approaching a constructive manner (thus, the 'crossfire').

So, welcome to Inherit the Fire. Sit down, grab some marshmallow if you want, or jump in and start playing with fire.