There is a time for everything

Have been thinking of starting a blog for a long time but kept putting it off, wondering what am I going to write about. It sucks to be living in the 21st century. So many millennia of original thought have preceded us already and it seems there is nothing worthwhile left to be said – at least something that’s entirely unique and new. Of course, I’m assuming that if I were born in an earlier era I would have had something original to say, and that’s so presumptuous! But you never know. Who can predict the past?

In any case, the fact is that for the most parts, from the epic of Gilgamesh to the latest airport page-turner we humans have been telling the same story over and over, albeit with new twists and varied emphases. The narrative themes are well known: love and betrayal, sin and redemption, courage and funk, on and on… all the elements that define the human condition. The story has remained the same, but it’s the telling of it – in art, books, movies – which has kept our creative juices flowing.

My creative juices, such as they were, were used up in making a living. I do not have any story to tell. Maybe anecdotes, and some dry, borrowed thoughts. So, although I do not have anything terribly original to say, I will off and on, time and mood permitting, soil these “pages” with my ramblings. And try to make them “look” original :-). Of course, I’ll be doing it entirely for myself, writing what I think and feel. One can’t imagine how blessed I’m – we are – to have the freedom and opportunity to do so.

When I worked in a newspaper this was obviously not the case, and still isn’t with all the mainstream media owned by big corporations who ply their own agendas. In late 90s I wrote an article about the US sanctions against Iraq in which I was critical of the American role and its imperial tendencies. The editor read the article, looked up at me and said, “you spell trouble”. He wanted to water it down, I said no. The article never saw the light of day.

With the power of the internet and blogging, critical thought and alternative views do not have to suffer a similar fate. Thank God. Of course, independent opinion remains obscure and marginalised, and does not have the reach of the mass media but at least it’s in the public domain and people have access to it. If they can find it, that is. And if you have found this and are reading this, welcome. Do come back, you may find something worth your while.