Be Kind to the Well-meaning Dilettante

I made my first post to Crime & Federalism - then, hosted on Blogger - on March 18, 2004. Last night I was able to successfully import my prior posts from Blogger, and I'm currently editing them.

I've noticed a couple of things.  First, I've learned a lot over this year. Concepts that I could barely grasph are now handled like breathing - with simple, involuntary control.

I also noticed that I was quite the dilettante.  Looking back at my old posts caused me to blush at my lack of nuance and context.  I wonder to myself, "How could I think myself qualified to write about such things?"

And yet, had I not started with the boldness possessed only by the fool, or the dilettante, I would still be ignorant.  Writing is the best way to learn -- Someone reading will always happily correct you.

But this past year of blogging offers me a good moral - Be kind and helpful to the well-meaning dilettante.  Chances are, we were all pretty clueless last year, and we are all still students this year.