I recently discovered one of, if not the most, delightful and simultaneously heart wrenching forms of entertainment accessible to post-modern man. I am referring, of course, to reading entries on the Craigslist Missed Connections page. Here, starry eyed lovers reach out across the internet void in hopes to bridge a gap left unfilled by actual human interaction. You get posts by men who thought she was cute, or a recollection of two people repeatedly crossing paths in a grocery store, or sappy descriptions of a single careless smile. Each entry is hoping beyond hope for more of some deep feeling, to continue the connection.

I’ve observed a similar phenomenon within our community’s intellectual life. Dozens of half baked yet profound “truth bombs” are dropped at the bar, after church, or during a casual hangout, never to be picked back up again. Those lucky few thoughts that are returned to are never provided with the incubation period needed to become an argument capable of self defense and proper persuasion. Because let’s face it, what do you do with a complete thought these days? Tweet about it?

Children learn to form letters, phrase sentences, then to write paragraphs, then essays. In the same way, we have watched our community learn to say hello, to small talk, then to gather and bounce around ideas. But it mustn’t end there. 

This Journal is a sort of intellectual missed connections page, where half thought propositions can be brought up and leave the elementary school of the courtyard and the barstool, maturing into sound arguments and valid conclusions. God willing, these thoughts will in turn strengthen our community and aid our growth in wisdom and in charity. Let us continue the conversation.

These are the collected thoughts of your neighbors. This is Cincinnati Thought.