The Way of the World

I've stopped tuning into the news.

I know that some people claim that laughter is a form of aggression, but for whatever reason, discussion about Europe makes me laugh out loud and I can't waste time at the moment. So much to catch up on in the blog, for instance.

Like any machine, once started it seems to have taken on a life of its own. While it is tiresome to explain what a blog is to the vast number of people who pour scorn on such self indulgence, gradually the value of being able to find like-minded contacts around the world is increasingly obvious even to professional writers.

Their distain for unedited ramblings is a source of amusement to me. Do they find that bloggers are not serious people? Are they concerned that their place in the world order may be threatened? Learning to read is still withheld in some societies as a way for elites to keep power over those who are unable to access information.

Learning to write is to find a voice in the ever increasing noise that our Planet is making.

Learning to blog is one step futher. It allows for documentary makers to upload their podcasts. Films that would never find a public forum are now top billing among fans and "Rudetube" is popular on TV, as the official media, which is almost always a follower rather than an innovator, catches up with the play.

There is a certain snobbism in distaining blogs, just as Flaubert made a song and dance about that new fangled machine, the train. However, they are increasingly more read than newspapers, especially among younger generations.

I have often been puzzled by those who feel that anything has to be given official validation before its value is recognised. Authority structures are being, finally and to my relief, being broken down by the ability of many people to maintain a coherent body of writing and visual material for sharing online. Showing it to another person for approval would not dawn on me, because their input would change the nature of what is being produced.