Two weeks ago, I wrote that the United States should open its border to all comers, making the nation less a fortress and more a just and peaceful society. I stand by that thought, dreadfully earnest though it may be. Yet I feel one-upped, in a way, by the second character to post online feedback to that column on The Sun website: "'Thinking In Public'? More like making a complete ass of yourself in public." Tough crowd.

Today concludes the three year run of "Thinking in Public." Though I have one year left at Cornell, I will use that time to focus on other ways of writing and citizenship. Looking back on several dozen columns, I am lucky to have few stylistic qualms and political differences with the earlier incarnations of myself that wrote those pieces. However, as a devotee of both The Daily Show and The Onion, I have to say I'm disappointed that I wasn't funnier. For the sin of relative humorlessness, I owe all of us an apology.

True, I did write an entire column about the inadvisability of gasoline-powered leaf-blowing. I also advocated letting fetuses make donations to political campaigns, though the whole plan hinged on presumed fetal support for women's rights. I even wrote "Pave Redbud Woods," but that was for April Fool's Day. At the time, some friends expressed genuine concern that my facetious logic would aid the prospects of the Cornell Administration's parking lot plan. Perhaps it did. Oops.

But overall, I fear I was too much scold, not enough hooligan. Alumni guest speakers like Citigroup's Sandy Weill and luxury homebuilder Bob Toll filled huge auditoriums, brought down the house and I respond like some Aesop's fable or an 18th century almanac, heaping on the truisms of frugality and lame good governance. Making an ass of myself (which is fun) or not, at times I've just been boring.

It began in the late summer of 2003 at the Blair Street home of then Sun associate editor Laura Rowntree '04, when I agreed to write three sample columns to try for a spot in the big leagues. These were: "Why Conservatives Don't Wear (Political) Buttons," "Defending Cynthia McKinney" (of course, and I still would) and "Don't Pave Paradise" (gee). Laura called me a few weeks later and asked to print the first; I insisted on the third; the other two never ran.

Since, "Thinking in Public" has been just that - a sustained effort to put important things in a locally prominent place. I thank four successive Sun Editorial Boards for the opportunity to work out some of my ideas where other people get to see them. It is strange, but probably true, to think that, had I not repeatedly written this column, my thoughts and feelings about certain aspects of myself and the world would be different than they are now. Thinking in public has meant actually thinking differently.

Writing an opinion piece each week has transformed me as someone who thinks and someone who writes. I urge it on anyone with the time and the self-confidence. A sense of humor doesn't hurt either. When I wrote in defense of abortion on demand, I received an e-mail that included the memorable phrase: "I love you Danny, but I hate your demons". The same writer signed: "In Christian love, Tom".

Further, though far too few of my columns have elicited giggles, believing in humor - having a real desire to expand the time and space that the world devotes to humor - has, without question, motivated many of the drier passages I've written. "Thinking in Public" has always espoused a progressive point of view. I am an atheist for peace and justice; a key reason why I want a better world is so that it can be a funnier one for all of us to live in together. War, greed and bigotry drown out the jokes.

And so I've subjected my own thought and words to scrutiny in an area with a very high number of scrutinizers per capita (U.S. Census American Community Survey). I've also tried to take this space (hopefully not too) seriously. I love my home here at Cornell in Ithaca. I am also cognizant of myself as a global citizen. I have tried to write about what matters to people here and elsewhere. And I've taken the liberty of writing also about what I think should matter more to all of us.

For the very real privilege of seeing my words in print and online, I thank Laura, Nate, Erica, Andy, Zach, Erica, Carlos and Erica. You have helped me make so much more sense than I would otherwise have made. When I have taken controversial stances, you have boosted my clarity, rendering my ideas less vulnerable to attack than they might otherwise have been. By editing my work, you have taught me how to write again and again. That's pretty cool. Thanks also to Freda, Eric and Michael, across the chasm in News. I appreciate the facts.

Most of all, I thank my grandparents, my parents '73, my brother Mickey '08 and all of my adoptive family members at 660 Stewart Avenue, in old Redbud Woods, across campus and about town. You make me. You have shown me such respect, taught me so much, laughed with me so hard and cared for me so well. I hope that I have begun to reciprocate.

Danny Pearlstein is a first-year master of regional planning student. He can be reached at dp89@cornell.edu. Thinking in Public appeared Thursdays.

Archived article by Danny Pearlstein