Was it a year not to step on the toes?

Was it a year not to step on the toes?

Not a silent but (perhaps) less irritating year

Three years of Corona pandemic came along and except for China not many countries seem still to worry.

In Europe, something very different from a Coronavirus has caught our attention. The danger is that this virus could spread and kill many more people than Corona did.
It is about the Putin virus or Russian disease as Trump might start calling it.

Just as a lot of fake news came our way during the Trump era, a lot of work had to be done in recent years to ‘debunk’ those misleading or deceptive reports.
You might think that here on this site with the name “Stepping toes” would be the ideal place to strip such disseminated falsehoods or lie talk of credibility. People like to sell talking points, and in recent years it seemed to have become a sport to send as many falsehoods into the world as possible. But to counter the many false messages posted on social media, this site was actually not originally planned.

Last year may have reached the pinnacle of fake message spreading. It could not go on any longer. Something had to be done to restore honour to journalism and bring correct messages to the world.

Young people were increasingly reaching for their smartphones with all kinds of apps to follow Facebook and Instagram posts, as if they could get the very best news there. But correct messaging was far from there. Social media won out over the daily and weekly newspapers that lost out, raising the question of whether there was still a possibility of life for serious journalism.
While newspapers were under pressure and many wondered how to survive this resort to social media, blogs also came under fire. Google and WordPress thought no better of changing their systems. At Blogger, it made a lot of bloggers tired of the difficulties in the system and took refuge elsewhere. Thus, I too decided to take refuge in the WordPress that was familiar to me with the old editor, hoping that WordPress would not force everyone to have to use the hideous block editor (introduced in 2018) (because it is really totally impractical for free writing and design).

Converting all the Google sites to the new system took a lot of time, so there have been somewhat fewer articles on my WordPress sites over the last two years, except for this year at my newcomer.

It is for that newcomer that I would like to draw your attention today.

The format of that new WordPress site is not really new, as the newcomer is actually a continuation of the former Blogspot sites “Christadelphian World” and “Our World“. The only difference now is actually a result of an easier form of writing and shaping for publishing or publishing articles. Because this is now much easier than Blogspot, I can now provide more articles at the same time.

As the title for the site, I chose “Some View on the World” or “Enige Kijk op de Wereld” because the site wants to give a view of what is happening in the world, while also giving more clarity on certain facts.
In the first year of its new form, it has been a bit of a search to find a way to leave enough time for my other Christian websites, while still being able to provide a balanced news overview that can be relied upon to be verified reporting and thus present accurate facts to the reader.

I believe I now know roughly how to tackle it for 2023 and hope that with my outline I can attract enough readers to further follow the links provided in the articles as well.

I do hope still to provide a day-to-day events review, and do hope people will find it useful.
I shall continue to try to offer ideas and context and depth, as well as information: a combination of clarity (the facts to help you understand the world) and imagination (the ideas you need to build a better one).

This better world that needs to be worked on is extremely important. We must realise that it is not ‘five to twelve’, but that the hands have long been moving in the wrong direction and that the earth is crying out loudly for support. For far too long, we have neglected the earth and been careless with its resources. Now we have to bear the consequences. Global warming is a fact, although many still do not want to acknowledge it. On “Some View on the World” we do want to pay attention to that earth which we have been given on loan by the Creator. Indeed, it is high time we took our responsibility and took steps to address that climate change.

We don’t particularly want to tread on toes on that “new site”, but we do want to regularly draw attention to those issues that really should get our attention.

In a way, I also hope to have caught your attention and made you warm to go and take a look at that news site (or online newspaper) and (who knows) subscribe there too to be kept informed of new articles.

Be welcome to “Some View on the World”.

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Additional reading

  1. Lots of news demanding attention
  2. Texts, writers, accesibility and willingness
  3. Thoughts tinged with triviality
  4. For those who call the Brussels Airport attacks a fake or a conspiracy of the government
  5. At the closing hours of 2016 #2 Low but also highlights
  6. International Women’s Day 2019
  7. 2021 in review #1 the most startling point
  8. Conspiracy theories in plenty-fold
  9. Entering 2022 still Aiming for a society without exploitation or oppression
  10. Putin speaks plainly – and the West is speechless
  11. Written-down thoughts
  12. Eyes on pages and messages on social media
  13. Gossip and fake news, opposite fact checking and facts presenting
  14. Study Guide: Definition of Journalism
  15. Safeguarding freedom of expression
  16. Identifying Journalism
  17. News that’s fit to print
  18. Newspapers: Dying or Changing
  19. The End of Journalism
  20. Why social media presence matters in journalism
  21. Traditional News Turns into The Journalism We Know Now
  22. The First Great Information War 
  23. Lies for Likes
  24. The Ever-Evolving Industry of Journalism: its Quest to Survive in a Digital World
  25. How to save Journalism in 2022
  26. Mississippi journalists discuss the evolution of daily newspapers
  27. Newspapers: Dying or Changing
  28. Journalism under attack
  29. What do we know about the future of journalism?
  30. Looking for Free Blogs and blogging
  31. WordPress appears to have fallen off its best horse
  32. A Classic Editor versus Block Editor
  33. From old times and sites to new linkings
  34. Joseph Pulitzer’s Retirement Speech & The Traits of Journalism
  35. Change of name
  36. New Name a fact
  37. Newly added pages to Our World
  38. Our World on Blogger coming to its end
  39. My faith and hope
  40. Presenting views from different sources
  41. Weekly World Watch (WWW) looking at a few key developments that have happened during the past week
  42. Invitation to renew connection
  43. Invitation to the news platform that brings a view of the world

Texts, writers, accessibility and willingness

To get people interested in sharing their thoughts together on a mixed platform may not be so easy as I would think. All my life I may have been an optimist and somewhat an utopian, believing in the good of man. All my life I have tired to sell things which people were not interested in: ballet and the Word of God.

Today, noticing how egocentric and materialistic people have become, I want to revive perhaps my enthusiasm of 1968, going back on the barricades demanding respect for humanity and nature. Whatever people may believe or not believe, how you turn it, living next to each other, they have to find a way to live with each other and to find a space where they can live peacefully in good conditions.

American Christians

American Christians

Living on this planet we can not seclude ourselves from this system of life. It is to easy to withdraw from what is happening in the world saying it is far away or that would be worries for the next generation.
Certainly those who call themselves Christians should be respectful to the creation of the Divine Creator. They should be even more aware than an atheist how we should take care of the earth, because that was one of the tasks given to man in the Garden of Eden. Also knowing that everybody is created in the image of God, we should be respectful to those people who the Creator allows to live on this earth, be it people we do like or people we do not like. We can not like everybody the same. It is impossible to love everybody the same. But Christians should have brotherly love for those around them.

Out of love they should let others know what they might expect or what there could happen to the world. We should figuratively be awake all the time and always be prepared to be ready for what would come over us in time. To be fully prepared we therefore should also know what is going on in the world.

Today people may be limited in time, having to work with two (or more) to be able to pay the rent, gas and electricity, trying to manage the household with shopping cooking and cleaning. For relaxation television and social media may demand attention.

I do believe we in the multiple amount of information we do need a a point of assembly or a depot where all information can be amalgamated and sieved. We have to get through so much information that it can be useful and profitable to have the news-gathering sifted. I believe we should, even when the time would perhaps not be ripe, take efforts to present the public a news platform where several writers of different opinions can come together and have their text next to the other, so that people can form their own opinion, and strain that what they do want to select.

The world keeps changing, but the thirst for news is always there. Today what happens in one place may have severe percussions in an other place. Many might think it is not possible to have different opinions next to each other, and people should stick with their own group of people not mixing with others. but we may not forget that we do have to live with others. We can not stop becoming more mixed cultural entities. More and more people are crossing borders and looking for other places to live and work. In their new surroundings they shall have to integrate and find ways to live in unity with the community.
CP Scott wrote in  ‘A Hundred Years’ for the Guardian, in 1921:
In all living things there must be a certain unity, a principle of vitality and growth. It is so with a newspaper, and the more complete and clear this unity the more vigorous and fruitful the growth. I ask myself what the paper stood for when first I knew it, what it has stood for since and stands for now. A newspaper has two sides to it. It is a business, like any other, and has to pay in the material sense in order to live. But it is much more than a business; it is an institution; it reflects and it influences the life of a whole community; it may affect even wider destinies. It is, in its way, an instrument of government. It plays on the minds and consciences of men. It may educate, stimulate, assist, or it may do the opposite. It has, therefore, a moral as well as a material existence, and its character and influence are in the main determined by the balance of these two forces. It may make profit or power its first object, or it may conceive itself as fulfilling a higher and more exacting function.
Our first aim is not to make gain or to get into power. Our aim is to inform people and to make them aware how the world is turning around. We should know what is happening outside our door of the family house or the community. I do believe in the power of information. People can get more knowledge when they receive the opportunity to get more information about all sorts of matters.
In the writings we would like to present on “Stepping Toes” we would like to give a reflection of this outside world. I am convinced journalists can have a contribute role in our society. They may reflect and give others material to think about. They may make us more conscious of what is going on and what can be done. Their writing and our writing may reflect and influence the life of a whole community; it may affect even wider destinies. We do not want to be an instrument of one typical organisation or one government, but would like to have a part in playing on the minds and consciences of men.
With “Stepping Toes” we not only would lay things bare, which others would prefer that they stayed unseen. I do agree we would love to consider the material from a civil worldly (non-religious) point of view and at the same time present other articles discussing a few things from our Christian point of view.  As such we would like to leave the people free to choose from the different writers who they would like to read, but hope they shall all get the reasonable attention. By presenting the different views people shall be able to make up their mind themselves. We should not, all the time, do that for them. as such giving that liberty of interpretation we do hope that It may educate, stimulate, or assist.
I expect from the writers on “Stepping toeshonesty, cleanness, courage, fairness, a sense of duty to the reader and the community. The subjects I would like to see covered are those of Human Interest, environmental news, and the Way of life, call it Lifestyle, the Being and feeling.cp scott
Comment is free, but facts are sacred. “Propaganda”, so called, by this means is hateful. The voice of opponents no less than that of friends has a right to be heard. Comment also is justly subject to a self-imposed restraint. It is well to be frank; it is even better to be fair. This is an ideal. Achievement in such matters is hardly given to man. We can but try, ask pardon for shortcomings, and there leave the matter. {CP Scott in The Guardian,  ‘A Hundred Years’ in 1921}
In the 1970s, The Independent and The Observer where with the Daily Telegraph my favourite newspapers and on Wednesday I did not wanted to miss the Guardian. In Dutch De Standaard was and is still my favourite newspaper.
Wanting to offer an overview of the happenings of the day I decided also to try the up-to-date links to interesting content of the Guardian in the web blog. I do hope this content may provide within our blog posts topical and interesting material which also can draw repeat traffic to our blog.
But we would love to see also some writers posting on “Stepping Toes” themselves, giving their impression of what happens in the world.
Anthony Sampson wrote in  Anatomy of Britain Today:
“In America journalism is apt to be regarded as an extension of history: in Britain, as an extension of conversation”
Arthur Miller wrote:
“A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself”
I would love to hear the nations of the world in conversation with one another. Having youngsters and older ones talking about how they see the world and look at its history.
I am convinced in the latest generation, born in the 1990s it should be possible to find also some persons who have the same energy as the second war and just after second war generation had.
I do believe it should have to be possible to find writers who are passionate about spreading the truth and seeing people walk in
liberty. I look forward to meeting such inspirational people who also would like to give their life meaning and to dedicate it to helping others with providing information, working at the development of humanity.
There should be around enough thinkers and communicators interested in sharing useful information as regards the total well being of mankind, spiritual, financial, social,medical and intellectual. People who want to uncover those who are not telling the truth. Passionate about spreading the truth and seeing people walk in liberty should be the drive which keeps us going and has us spreading the news.
It is now that we can talk to future generations and should work together to inform them, knowing that they will be the leaders of
tomorrow. All together we should like to face the “Youth”.
Those who feel that we talk to them, and those who feel the calling for helping to inform the general public are welcome to join us, to try to build a platform where we show to have an eye for those in peril. It may be perhaps not such nice news, but here we would like to let others know where other people are treated unrighteous. We want to show the inequity, the racism, the poverty, but we also want to show that it can be different. It would be great if we could present a lot of good news, because to that the newspapers and the television journals do not spend time enough. And we are convinced there are also many great things happening in this world which should make us happy.
In case you have some good news, let us know. Share the good tidings with us.
the word of God

the word of God (Photo credit: jangkwee)

If you are a religious person you probably know what your religion teaches. did you ever wondered about those teachings and do you put them in the light of what is happening in this world? On this site we would like to ask you to have a look at what happens in the world and to question which attitude you want to take as a Christian. You shall be able to find neutral news, non religious news but also reviews of what denomination try to bring to their community. At this platform we shall not step back to question you to compare the things of the world with the things written in the Bible. We shall not mind daring to ask if the teaching of your religion lines up with what God says in His book. We shall dare to ask you if you are you sure. Do you study the Bible to make sure? If you do not, look at what Jesus says and consider the Words of his Father, Who is also our Father.

We want to offer ways to keep ourselves strong and united whilst being ourselves. This can be done by accepting that people may think differently and by allowing the Word of God to teach us, rebuke us and encourage us. God speaks to us all, and speaks to each one of us individually. We all can and should read the Bible and take it as our most important guide, so that we may be prepared for every good work.

Let us not wait but start the good work now and take up our pen to reach as many people as possible.

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Please do find:

  1. About Stepping Toes
  2. Aim of Stepping toes site
  3. Our you taking a step back to think
  4. World Agenda for Sustainability
  5. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #3 Of the earth or of God
  6. Just an Ordinary Day
  7. Frank risks taking
  8. The work I do, let it be done good
  9. Walking in love by faith not by sight
  10. No time for immorality
  11. Be Honest
  12. Honesty beginning of holiness
  13. Who are the honest ones?
  14. If you have integrity
  15. Peace Takes You
  16. Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
  17. More-Letter-Words
  18. A Society pleading poverty
  19. Martin Luther King’s Dream Today
  20. The work I do, let it be done good

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