Bloggasm

Ernest Svenson is a lawyer living in Louisiana. He blogs over at Ernie the Attorney.

Simon Owens: I’ve noticed that new political blogs pop up every day, mostly written by people with a mild interest in politics who don’t have any special qualifications to give their opinions more weight. As a blogger who’s also an attorney, do you find that bloggers who have real training in their area of interest carry more weight? Do you think that bloggers are more likely to cite you as a source because of your law degree?

Ernest Svenson: First, I think that it’s great that people without any so-called ‘training’ are joining in conversations. Obviously, there are many blogs that are just low-level rant machines. But there are significant numbers of blogs that offer interesting points of view, and are well-reasoned and well-written. Over time those blogs become better written and more thoughtful. If you want to find mediocrity and hackneyed commentary you can find it pretty much anywhere. When you find mediocrity in the mainstream media it’s particularly demoralizing because the people in the mainstream press (1) are professionals, and (2) they have long been regarded as fulfilling an important social role of educating the public about important issues. I’d like to think that if people are drawn to my site it’s because I offer a slightly different approach to my commentary than other people. In actuality there are many people who do what I do much better than I do it, but we all have to have our delusions right?

Simon Owens: As an attorney, what do you think of the conservative outcries at “activist judges”? Do you think this has become a knee-jerk reaction to anything that conservatives don’t agree with?

Ernest Svenson: There are a lot of knees jerking in both conservative and liberal camps. As for ‘activist judges,’ I’m not really sure what that means. Or, let me put it this way: I’m not sure I’ve ever met an activist judge. I’ve heard about them, so much so that I assume that they must exist. But I’ve never met one. I’ve met some sloppy judges and some sort of apathetic ones, but most of the judges are people who wake up every day, go to work, put on a robe and then struggle to make good decisions in difficult cases. Sure sometimes they screw up, and sometimes they lean towards a comfortable viewpoint when they make their decisions. How is this any different than the rest of the world? How many people jump over their biases and assumptions in every day life?

Simon Owens: Do you feel that there is too much of a negative connotation to the word “lawyer”? Do you have to constantly fight against negative stereotypes that people have formed about lawyers?

Ernest Svenson: I don’t think there is as much of a negative connotation to the word “lawyer” as there is to the phrase “legal system.” Judges, politicians, lawyers and litigants all share responsibility for the deplorable state of our legal system. The problem that we have now is that no one likes to change a political system, except people who perceive they will benefit from the change. Figuring out how to convince those who, supposedly, won’t benefit from the change makes the process cumbersome and –frankly– impossible from a political standpoint.

Simon Owens: Since you’ve joined the blogging world, have you ever entered any heated discussions with other bloggers?

Ernest Svenson: I probably have had some heated discussions, more so in the beginning. I have grown tired of highly charged debates, mostly because they don’t strike me as productive (and they’re not that enjoyable either). I think we have too many heated discussions going on in the world right now. As a result we tend to overlook things that there isn’t much room for disagreement about.. Global warming is a good example. We know it’s happening and we know it’s bad, but –for some reason– we don’t feel like discussing it.

Simon Owens: I’ve noticed that you tend to focus many of your posts on the Katrina disaster. Many reports say that the recovery isn’t going very well. Why do you think this is?

Ernest Svenson: I focus on the Katrina situation because I’m right smack in the middle of it, and because it’s fascinating to see how it affects the people around me (and me too). I often suggest that the recovery isn’t going well because that’s my human tendency –i.e. to take a short term, self-focused, view of things. Whether it’s going well viewed from some more objective standpoint I have no idea. Predictably, there will be mindless debate about many aspects of the Katrina-aftermath. Human beings would rather watch a car wreck than read a book about intricate scientific stuff. Wherever there are provocative images of human misery you can be sure that that’s what we’ll all focus on the most, and that’s what the press (and many blogs) will focus on too.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own blog?

Ernest Svenson: I would recommend that people find their own way around the internet, and not rely on me or others who might profess some special awareness about cyberspace or the blogosphere. People who read my blog can easily figure out what other blogs I like because I link to them. But I have a narrow view of things, despite what I like to think, so people should definitely not sit up in their chairs when I start to list blogs that I like.

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