Welcome to Kramer's Place: A (Re)introduction
Order is harder to create than chaos Beauty is harder to create than order Life without beauty is death
If you are anything like me, you find the overculture in America – by which I mean the goodthink mainstream consensus that sways back and forth between progressivism and liberalism – to be stifling, restrictive, spiritually deadening, and often wrong. Somewhere along the road, we have gone astray and forgotten the value of freedom of expression.
In the spirit of reclaiming that freedom, I reject the dominant culture of therapyspeak, of safetyism, of sacrificing truth for comfort. I especially abhor the hateful divisiveness along the lines of race and sex that has been wielded as a wedge between ordinary people for short-minded political gain.
I open with these broad declarations so as to set the tone for my blog as a place of open inquiry that cherishes differing perspectives. I love the free-flowing exchange of ideas and the eternal pursuit of truth.
I aspire for Kramer’s Place to be a digital dive bar in spirit. A place for late-night honest conversations, the sort that can help us find truth, beauty, and meaningful connections with each other and the world. It is also a place for bawdy jokes and boisterous laughter. Anybody is welcome so long as they are polite.
Past writing projects of mine—some remnants of which exist here—endeavored to present pieces under an overarching ‘theme’ but I always came to find that too constraining. What if I want to write about what’s wrong with education, yes, but also the reasons why Hollywood doesn’t make good movies anymore, why so many young Americans are unhappy, why Sunday is a special day of the week (but I still hate calendars)? And what about my stories, my poetry, my— well, you get the idea.
So I’ve settled on a new approach, which is to embrace my eclecticism and follow my mind and my heart wherever their curiosity leads me. This will be the new home for all my writing and thoughts, no matter how far-ranging or unconnected.
This blog is named in part after Fred’s Place, a Bay Area institution and the finest dive bar in town. My logo is an homage to Fred’s own iconic neon sign, a friendly beacon to all wanderers and travelers of the road to come in, take a seat, and make memories.
About the Author:
I am Matt Kramer, a wandering writer who is obsessed with trying to understand and solve misery. It’s no secret that my fellow Millennials and younger generations are struggling to find happiness. I want to understand the forces driving that and how to solve them. Better living is always within grasp!
Lightning round:
I am a Romantic, seeking to celebrate what inspires my spirit and contribute to the evocative beauty of the world.
I am a strategic thinker, constantly analyzing systems and interactions in order to improve them or find an edge.
I am a warm conservative, in the sense that I feel an alignment and moral responsibility to protect and preserve things that are beautiful, good, or true. (And to try to be polite while doing so.)
I believe deeply in God. Faith has transformed my life and relationships in ways that I never could have imagined, and I give all my gratitude to God. If you’re not sure about a higher power yourself, I ask you as a personal favor to leave just the teensiest sliver of agnostic doubt in your mind and permit yourself to stay open to mystic possibilities.
Lastly, although my blog is styled after a dive bar, I am compelled to share that I am actually an alcoholic in recovery. I tend to be a pretty private person, but I like to be open about my struggles here and how much better my life got after I stopped drinking. If you’re unhappy about your relationship with alcohol or other vices, know that I am an ordinary man of ordinary willpower and if I can quit, you can too. I had my last drink in September 2023. I am much happier now.
Thank you for reading, and I welcome for you to connect with me in the comments of my writing here or on Twitter.com: @kramerposts
