The purpose of blogging is to pen one’s thoughts & opinions, is it not? Yet, the very nature of a blog is that one’s thoughts & opinions are — in essence — made public.

I used to write regularly in a personal blog that I created as a military family support group/outlet for myself. I quit writing in it for a long while, a) b/c I’ve been swamped w/school, work, life, etc., and b) b/c I didn’t feel comfortable expressing my concerns, doubts, fears, anxieties, frustrations, stress, etc. in a forum that is so public about a situation that is so publicly criticized already.

Although it may just be a pipedream, I do entertain thoughts of running for office someday, and I realize that anything I’ve written in my blog, every post I’ve inserted into Facebook, every comment that I’ve made to someone in Second Life and every remark I’ve made via email is potential fodder for a tabloid to receive and take out of context.

If I were to share in my blog about how angry I felt when the Army missed one of my husband’s paychecks or how difficult some days are as we try to readjust to life under the same roof again, I might be portrayed as a fair-weather military supporter and not the patriotic, devoted and deeply passionate American who I really am.

Sometimes it seems easier to avoid controversial subjects for the sake of not having to explain oneself after the fact … or years down the road, as the case may be. There is no expectation of privacy as a public figure, and it seems that private citizens have less and less privacy, as well.