It just so happens I was just thinking about anonymity this morning.  In this day and age, the ability to walk down a street somewhere and be neither recognized nor watched is precious, and should be guarded.  Not because I or anyone who wants to be anonymous or unwatched intends to do anything "wrong".  Rather, sometimes one just wants to be left alone.

In the words of an opinion by Mr. Justice Douglas, I think it was, the most precious right is the right to be left alone.

Or, as one writer whose work I'm fond of put it:  

"The final galleys were coming due and I needed to get away.  On the phone, my publisher's secretary asked 'where can you be reached'?

"I can't", I said, hung up and walked out to the truck.

The nice thing about being "anonymous" on this site is that while blogging I can pretty much let the facts and arguments go where they will, without having to worry about people sending me envelopes full of powdery-other-than-mail.  It's incredibly liberating.  And, I think, it makes for better analysis - which is a lot of what I am doing.

That, and more importantly, I personally have no past to defend or future-as-pundit to worry about.  Being anonymous is wholly impersonal.  You know how people are saying, Loserman will find himself in a minority again after 2008, if he is to switch over this year (anticipating more D gains in 08) and then, horror of horrors, the bookers at MTP and so on will stop calling?  By being anonymous, the bookers at MTP or Olbermann or whomever will not be calling me.  I will not grow accustomed to the ego-enhancement all that would confer (my ego's quite big enough, already, thank you), and more importantly I won't find myself in the situation where I'm doing things looking for the ego stroke and damning any pretense to intellectual honesty.  And I don't have to compromise on matters of principle out of worrying over someone throwing in ad hominem stuff.  

Besides, I have a face made for radio.  And I like profanity (Or, at least, I use so much of it I must like it....).

Anonymity surely has negative financial repercussions - I won't make bucks from what I'm doing here and I surely could use them (who couldn't) - but I'm not in this for money. Anonymity's repercussions to the integrity of thought and argument I put forth are, from my perspective, purely positive.

So, in all likelihood, if someone were to ask me:  "where can you be reached?", my answer's the same as that other author's.

Comments?  Questions?