The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?I was a poet, writer, singer, and artist in my youth.  I grew up guilty of idealism without understanding.  Those urges have stayed with me through the years, now understanding has become my priority.  After becoming BossKitty, and guest posting on a friend’s political blog for several months, I decided that political blogs treat readers to shallow rhetoric and sensationalism.  This did not satisfy my deeper question of actual cause and effect.  I am interested in impact to populations.  I see a complex spider web where we are all connected.  I see questions as the answer.  Therefore, TruthHugger was born to the blog world.  I strive to “Question with boldness; education, philosophy, history, culture, religion, social science.”  I have brought this daunting task upon a 60+ year old body with a 16-year-old mind.  I am a “history heretic” who understands the history we are taught serves the state more than it serves to teach actual cause and effect.  The first thing I question is whose version of events I am seeing.  We may never know the whole truth behind our histories, because the winners write history.  Losers and disenfranchised are collateral subjects. Every culture has a view of the world, a lens through which “normal” or “insane,” “acceptable” or “unacceptable” are defined, these views are always biased and subject to change, with new discoveries.  Research is everything.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?

Of course, the more ways you approach and research your topic, the better your understanding becomes.  This is important because once you become comfortable with ONE approach, you become stagnant.  Because, the Universe, Solar System, Earth, down to the atoms comprising all elements, cannot stand still, neither should human vantage point.  When human understanding becomes fixed or fixated, we fall behind reality. Everything is in flux.  Humans have survived ONLY because they are flexible and adaptable.  Today, these attributes are more important than ever.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?

When I discovered that school systems and universities use my posts for research, I was delighted.  I am compulsive about my own research.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?

Hmmm.  I am remiss communicating with most bloggers.  I do not write for other bloggers.  I write for inquisitive readers.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?

I enjoy the availability of international resources through web access.  The boundless selection of information is overwhelming; selecting credible resources is an art form in itself.  Information without bias is rare.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
Maybe.  Curious people who seek information are responsive, regardless of the technology available to them.  Not all people are curious; new technology only offers easier ways to spout rhetoric.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

Compulsive research.  I offer links to all sites where my information is collected.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?

Stubborn, I am.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

It is hard to choose the happiest moments, because they define different sections of my life.  My happiness is the moment I experience it.  My gloomiest moment came when I was video documenting the Challenger Launch at NASA.  I saw the cloud in the vapor trail and no shuttle emerged from it.  My heart sunk.  I had worked over a year documenting crew training with each one of them. We had become friends.  I saw my friends evaporate and mumbled, “this is the end of our space program”.  Even gloomier was having to document the disaster frame by frame for the Challenger Commission.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
Regardless of political strife, I would allow myself to be a “walking target” anywhere in the Middle East, South East Asia, and Africa.

What is your favorite book and why?
Daniel J. Boorstin, “The Discoverers,” documents how humankind has come to know the world, starting with the concept of time. However, works of the late Joseph Campbell , provided the most insight into the beauty of diverse culture.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Their eyes.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?
My parents said I needed to focus on something I could make a living with, not writing.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
Some bloggers enjoy advertising income … I do not.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Someone with a lot of time, in my world, is dead.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world friendlier and less hostile?
Engage in dialog with people holding conflicting views.  At one time I had self-proclaimed jihadists commenting on my posts.  Some jihadists would not engage in dialog because they just wanted to rant hatred.  I found others to be more curious and thoughtful.  I really enjoyed learning from them.  I only hope they learned from me that everyone is different and not always accurately represented by the government that supposedly speaks for them.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
I enjoy all the contributors to CHOWK (count as one), Len Hart at The Existentialist Cowboy, Wil Robinson at International Political Will, Bill Moyers of Bill Moyers Journal, and Luminaria.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?

My editorial on an article from CHOWK, Fallen Angels Or Risen Apes has been the most viewed, but no comments.  Most comments appear on my posts about Tibet, Burma, and Pakistan.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

Pakistan has the same dilemma that other countries have trying to balance and accommodate different ethnic or tribal groups. The saddest vision I see is the growing threat to the Pakistani middle class.  You cannot define Pakistan by any one faction or any one leader.  One faction imposing it’s will upon the unwilling is criminal.  Will must remain a collective agreement.   I see Pakistan in the growing pains of extracting itself from the manipulation by the West, especially the US.  I must separate Pakistan the country from Pakistan the people.  Until I witness a united Pakistan, my perception remains divided.  My friends from Pakistan are impacted by current events that threaten their families and livelihoods.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?

Stunned no, some contemporary works and insights have impressed me.  No one blogger stands out from the rest, I am still searching.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?

The developing country is at the mercy of the country who offers promises to “lend aid” and support to its immediate needs, industry, and welfare.  Developed countries depend on desperate leaders, who accept their bribes in exchange for desired support.  This creates corruption that is difficult to remove. 

What is the future of blogging?

That depends on the future of the internet and its freedom of expression.  Blogging holds the promise of bringing the world together through dialog.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?

Yes.  Sometimes I have trouble balancing working for wages and working for intellectual satisfaction.

What are your future plans?
If I can ever afford to retire, I will start adding my own artwork to my articles.  Because stories and issues drive my writing, I am a captive participant.  Blogging allows my observations to be presented, is quite satisfying (maybe selfish).

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?

“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin (unkempt), barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”  Jacob Bronowski The Ascent of Man