Several readers have written or called me lately to inquire about my sporadic writings in recent weeks. As my column used to appear regularly on the Saturday edition of this newspaper, they wondered why on a few instances there was no story. “Was it Ramadan?” one wondered.
No, the truth of the matter is that I do send a column to the paper regularly. As a non-journalist, I find it a practical forum to espouse some of my encounters or views, radical as they may occasionally seem. And I am equally surprised as my readers to find the “Close Encounters” column missing when I scan the papers Saturday morning.
But the powers to be at this institution, meaning those sharp-eyed editors with their equally sharp nippers, can and do decry that certain contributions I offer are unfit for public consumption. And I have to agree that a rush of adrenalin sometimes does get me off-track. As a non-reporter, I am thankfully spared the banalities of writing about who sent greetings to whom, or who met which personality at what airport. It would seem that these functions were all that some of our government officials were tasked with.
Nor am I compelled to glorify statistics on achievements in the various branches of the public sector, when facts may well prove otherwise. As one who lives here, and whose eyes have yet not gone into the stage of playing tricks, I cannot begin to list some of the inconveniences we face at the hands of bureaucrats entrusted with running the services sector, such as our municipalities, or chambers of commerce, our Traffic Department, or otherwise.
Nor do I indulge in the glorification of the signing of major projects that will most likely not bear fruit in my lifetime. No indeed. Thankfully I am spared all of that. My opinions and thus my words are my own, contrary to the popular belief in the West that we are a state-controlled press. If indeed that was the case, then I would not be tempted to stroke the keyboard.
And while I usually relish focusing on issues I feel concern us daily on the domestic front, intrusions by foreign governments into my bubble of existence can and sometimes do compel me to foray into the arena of global politics.
My dear father once admonished me when I was young with, “Son, if you cannot say anything good about something, then don’t say anything at all.” And while dear Baba has been right on so many occasions, my natural instincts when writing are to do otherwise.
And thus I leave you with this column.
