Cleveland Indians or Cleveland Guardians -- How important is it really?

The Cleveland Indians announced earlier this week that they are changing their name to the Cleveland Guardians, ending a tradition of over 100 years of being named the Indians. Much of the social unrest regarding racial matters prompted the name change, and whether you like the name "Guardians" or not (and it seems like a lot of people don't), we're pretty divided on whether it was a good idea to change the name in the first place.

(I have to give them credit for coming up with a name right away, instead of doing what the Washington Redskins did and change their name to the "Washington Football Team" while they take two years to come up with a new name.)

Reading around the internet, people of all races are on both sides of the debate. Native Americans even seem to be divided; some are glad that the name is gone because it was racist, while others dislike getting rid of the name because they feel that it erases lots of tradition and that the name paid tribute to the Native Americans. Therefore, there's no easy answer to whether this was the right move to make or not; it seems that many people will be upset either way.

I can see both points of view, but my main question is this: How important is it really?

I'm not Native American, so I won't claim to understand their point of view on the issue. But this is a sports team name that we're talking about here. Will changing the team name -- or keeping it the same for that matter -- do anything to stop all the hatred, violence, and killing that is going on in our world today? In the grand scheme of things, will the Dixie Chicks or Lady Antebellum changing their name really make that much of a difference? Sorry, but I don't think so.

And this is coming from someone who is a huge baseball fan. I'd rather we take actions that will actually solve some of the problems that we are facing today. Changing a team name not only divides us more than we already are -- and we're pretty divided -- but it distracts us from the real issues. And that's a big problem.

So, it's okay to have an opinion on the matter. And I can even understand why it's important to some folks. I just don't think this is something that we should get that worked up about. I'd rather work to heal the division in our nation and to save innocent lives than get caught up in something that doesn't mean all that much in the first place.

I'd like to think that people will soon let this go and that we can move on. But given how easy it is to get distracted and work people up over things that aren't that important, I'm not confident that will happen.

Why I write -- and why it matters

I'm trying to recall when it is that I first discovered that I like to write, and that (I'd like to think) I'm pretty good at it. I wrote for my high school's newspaper and thought I wanted to pursue a degree in journalism. For several different reasons, that didn't materialize, but I still enjoy writing to this day as often as I can.

I feel like I have a lot to say through writing. I've written three books and written numerous articles for several websites and publications. This might come as a surprise to people who meet me in person. The first thing that stands out about me is that I'm quiet and don't really say much, at least initially.

I'm an extreme introvert -- and personality tests that I've taken confirm this, though I don't feel like I needed one to figure that out. One common characteristic of introverts is that we like to think things through and carefully craft what we want to say before we say it. That's difficult to do during an in-person conversation because that involves quick thinking.

My brain doesn't quite work that way. That's not a bad thing; that just means that I'm different. When I want to share my thoughts with other people, I like to sit at the computer and really put some thought into it, carefully considering every word and reading it through over and over again to make sure I get the exact message out that I want.

Writing is a good release for me because I feel like I have plenty to say; I just am not good at saying it in person. That's one good thing about the internet and social media: For all the negative that comes with it, it gives introverts like myself a voice, a chance to get my thoughts out to the world. With modern trends such as email, Facebook, and web pages, we've all had to become good at communicating through the written word. And I think that's a good thing.

Over the past several months, for various reasons, I haven't done much writing. And I've missed it. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with others, but more importantly for myself, I enjoy getting those thoughts that have been bubbling in my brain out into the world. It's something that everyone needs to do in one way or another. Some people like to do it through in-person conversation. This, however, is my preferred method.

So, in the coming weeks and months, I'm going to try to do a lot more writing and share it with all of you. I hope you'll find what I have to say both interesting and informative and that both of us (myself and you the reader) get something out of it.