Journalists! Can you write what you really want to say?

I am often asked why I do not want to be a journalist, as my family has a history in this field, and mindful of some of the products today, that I could make a living out of it. All I say is that is for when or if I reach 90, when I am no good for anything else!!! I can then sit at my computer all day and write articles till night fall filling pages of newspapers that no one reads, or even better edit what other people write. I do not see that right now, as my inspiration comes 100% from what I do all day.

I am up at 3am now, to blog, because I have a full day of work ahead. Here in the heart of town in Gregory’s Rd, I still hear a lot of background noise, from the rumble even at this hour of the traffic and the train sirens from Fort. Despite the place being full of trees and on the second floor being on the same level as the birds I can see out of my window each day, parrots, woodpeckers, orioles, mynahs, barbets, kohas, drongos, I still long for my place in the forest. My blog entries give some indication of the variation of my daily encounters, and they can fill a few blog entries, more than any content a journalist could investigate in a day. I am fortunate to have a job that satisfies, and most of all interaction with people from all walks of life, most coming for help, favors and assistance. The fact that most of the time each moment is unpredictable and the encounters take different forms.

We get calls from all over the country from people asking for advice from those of our party who have suffered, on how to tackle situations of a complete breakdown of law and order instigated by and often in collusion with the elected members of government in cahoots with the police. What is in print is chicken feed when compared to reality. All these pro govt. journalists would squirm in their pants if they knew. Well say they know, they dare not write, so they are the gagged ones!

A huge challenge for me is to grow a strong base within the young people of Sri Lanka, mainly women to instill a political ideology based on realistic expectations of living within one’s capabilities, devoid of illegality, that respects our environment and diversity, and above all take ownership of their lives so that they are not enslaved by anything, belief or anyone. The right to reason and make up their minds based on an evaluation on what they feel, see, read and hear. It will then be up to them to educate people to think, so that people will over time be able to see the wood from the trees and prevent them from being drowned by the Pied Piper of the land who is leading them into the abyss with their consent.

Only the future will tell if the state is drowned by debt before the people are drowned by the mountain of lies or the other way round.