Why I write for the Internet - Original

Why I write, for the Internet.
© 2005 Mike W. Boitano
Original version

I have no special opinion, nor any particular powers of wisdom.
I have no other motive to publish, than to state my own view.
Then the only other consideration that matters is, how well will my writing stand the tests of time.

What do I mean?
Well, when writing I ask the question, “Will this really make sense to the people of today?” Then, the next step of drafting, “Will this be relevant to the next generation? Or the ones after that?”. As You can see, this soon leads to several different audiences, over several spans of time. You say, Isn’t that Convoluted? Not really. As long as Your writing stays with the truth.

What is the Truth?
That is a better question and for this debate, let us agree that the truth is something You believe in. Something You are willing to stand up for. Something You must speak about and defend even when no one else will.

There must be a thousand definitions of the truth?
Well, You would be right. That is exactly why a written piece must stand the tests of time. First it has to be logical, second it has to be moral and ethical. And eventually, it must be just. So the truth and writing, must state the facts as best as can be determined. Because the more accurate and precise the focus, the better the premise is able to stay on target over time.

Is this a bunch of fluff…?
Perhaps there will always be those who are skeptical, I no longer feel compelled by that motive or any other petty and ridiculous self interest. That became meaningless for me after that day. Sitting there wallowing in self-doubt and opulent self-pity, I turned on the television out of shear boredom for my disgusting state. That is when my miserable life changed forever. For it was that day that I witnessed a video report about the starving people of Niger, and one Mother’s plight to try and save her child. Maybe I will never be able to convey in written form the horror of those images. I can not erase that image in my mind, of an agonized woman knowing there was really no more options left to feed her child, than to pick, prepare and serve boiled grass to a loved one. I had to witness another precious set of human beings grazing on bare ground like animals. HUMAN BEINGS. While the whole time I watched the report there was ample food lying around my feet, rotting as discarded garbage.

People are starving all the time, what made that “isolated event” so special?
I can not honestly or logically answer, You the reader, directly about that question. The following paraphrases some of the events I had witnessed during the Summer of 2005 that caused my shift in thinking;

The BBC News - Summer 2005 Crisis in Niger, Africa ***
***(later reports will refer to as “Darfur Crisis”)
<http://www.bbcworldnews.com/>

Profiteering Dooms Many to Starvation in Niger <node/672>
Food is slowly coming into this drought stricken land, but price gouging and profiteering by traders <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081001946.html> put it beyond the reach of many, especially women.
<http://www.airamericaradio.com/node/672>

Though crises are many, all deserve notice
Aid agencies say the crisis - caused by locusts and a long drought - was foreseen months ago but nothing was done.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4696149.stm>

Perhaps, it could have been the perceptive way the video journalist portrayed the entire cycle of starvation, not just another ‘isolated event’. The BBC reports followed the story from the start by explaining why people could not get food. At first, there was drought, then a civil war. It continued to escalate to tribal hatred as some were murdered and then most were targeted for isolation and intentional starvation. The report went on to show a village and a Mother’s struggle to scavenge any type of nutrition for her child she thought was possible. What the report did not show was the ultimate outcome. It merely presented the facts, and left the final conclusion to be a sub-conscious one. The Child eventually died or would die, soon. That’s right, DIE.

DIE?
Not because of a lack of food, or a lack of knowledge. Not because the Mother wasn’t trying hard enough. Not because of a thousand different excuses a supposedly civilized, rational, self respecting group of “HUMAN BEINGS” use to ignore this problem every single stinking day. The Child eventually would die, just because.
No particular reason. No other report I saw before that galvanized the Public imagination. It was a slow time in the American Press. The European Union is apparently busy trying to survive ‘Economically’. The Chinese ‘Empire’ has convinced it’s Youth to forget about Tenimen Square and not care about the loss of their own freedom in exchange for a full rice bowl. China has to be aggressive, it can barely feed it’s own. Do You think they will stop to help Africa? Poor or not, it is unfortunate not to concentrate on peaceful means to educate people and reform the political chaos.

Why should I care?
The World does not care. As I write this piece, the World has reached a saturation point, it can be seen in the neglect of Pakistan’s earthquake victims.

USA TODAY. McLean, Va.: Oct 26, 2005. pg. A.11 Abstract (Document Summary)
Many lives in Pakistan are in danger of being lost after the earthquake. The fact that this calamity follows other recent disasters requiring our attention should not detract from the level and timeliness of the response. But, so far, it is not adequate ("U.N.: Quake victims need more global help," News, Friday).

Oct 28, 2005 World head-lines
‘Quake victims need more global help’
‘U. N. Warns money for Aid is running out for Quake Victims’

By Oct. 31st 2005, all of these headlines started to disappeared, except the ones in archives which are purchased for a price, of course. Twelve days after the crisis, the World effort to search for survivors has been abandoned. Not because of a lack of hope, but because the resources world wide are strained. How many Fathers carried their wounded children for miles, only to see them die before help could be received? How slight a reserve do we have? A Tsunami <http://www11.overture.com/d/sr/?xargs=15KPjg19VS4YK9k7PyMPiIRvydhRlLit32q5g7WNMoTYcLsmw%2DDr1gLfiV9IU6ErgivUqT07LMvKhNebq8x7neBw36ARDMR7yihZnGy9ZiYvq0WqUM2PVxgrnj1%2DkLfxBF617g8eKOp7yjc5vvbHNK%5Fo8VnGTt8PBuw8%2D3xeEZGbrOmhpJy2OnIOkM79JdhcrCLe59P7ZDLYDNnieRcIozk594keyiPylSHRuY4Wsa6Q%5FRZmMn2NrAD4sJvsfx6Y3tG5eMmqsqGbCgx5A6tUubyS6t%2DZ9iNnz0jLRdli8FTr2%5FEzfdnldW3KOr%2DfSuW65nqHLsRM%5FQEXj%5FdwYCPEZ8APy9dUONdD9jvF%2DKi792et%5Ftg0OzAbGYBT4ufFIJ68XyNcAO9W2ZjH4wXiSVGMCT8noLbY0miXWx%5FyLCuQk52YZhu6KKOpMS5dqOmFWAB&yargs=www.pricegrabber.com>, a Hurricane, and now an Earthquake have tapped the World of energy, monies, and guts to help fellow humans. Forget about ‘foreign terrorists’ someday bring down society, it is already crumbling all around You. So, now it is My turn to ask You a question and it is not hypothetical or rhetorical.

What are You going to do about it? ANYTHING?
I am not going to badger You. You are free to do what ever You see fit. But, perhaps someday You to will see the light or whatever You prefer to call enlightenment. And somewhere in that brain of Yours, You may remember this tale, and We will finally agree. This is not just about ourselves, this life is about all of Us. The People before Us, The People right now, and the Ones to be. That is why writing is so important to future generations.

Because ultimately, the human race is always pointed forward. Here is an example, I will die, this is certain. But what is not certain, is if I will have on impact on someone else. For all my work in life is meaningless, if there will be no one that understands and utilizes all the experiences, the tests, the trials, the ideas, and the knowledge. The entire expenditure of energy wasted on one generation, only to be ignored by the next generation, whom are then doomed to repeat the folly of waste all over again. Out of this twisted wreckage of human fodder, somehow blooms the creativity of humankind.

Yes, communicating with other people and multiple audiences can be complicated. However, the stakes are extremely rewarding, even if You will never see the pay off in Your lifetime. Why? Because Your knowledge crafted the writing with the truth. The whole truth, and nothing else but the truth. So, even if only one small soul eventually catch’s a spark from this work, all Your efforts will not have been wasted in vain.

Sources:
The BBC News - <http://www.bbcworldnews.com/>
USA Today - <http://www.usatoday.com/>
Air America Radio - <http://www.airamericaradio.com/>
Keyword(s)=Summer 2005, News, Darfur, Africa

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