my new adventure

So lately, I've found myself envying friends that are living in far away places--Morocco, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, the list goes on. The freedom outside a nine to five job (or in my case, an eight-thirty to six-thirty job) is invigorating. While my friends are learning Arabic, attending culinary school, climbing mountains, feeding mouths and teaching students, I'm writing book proposals, researching teacher equity and editing chapters on budget cuts--all fascinating tasks, but within the confines of four walls on domestic soil. However, while walking to my neighborhood farmer's market on this crisp fall morning, a pleasant thought occurred: my quest for freedom may look differently these days, but I have indeed found freedom. I've found it in the hustle of the city.

There something about DC that ignites a fire within me that burns so rapidly I find myself gasping for air. Whether I find the city deserving or not, my new home is the epicenter of the world--or at least for now. And I embrace this new adventure, which has promise to be as exotic as Morocco. As I tune my ear to the voices around me, I hear French, Swahili and Mandarin. I hear a Southern twang and Bostonian grunt.

Some of my most mundane tasks of daily life are constantly intersecting with the grandour of history and present civic life. On my way to the grocery store, I drive past the Capitol. On my way home from dinners with coworkers, I walk past the White House. My favorite walking loop takes me past the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. My morning commute funnels me right through Union Station, a hub that has welcomed many presidents and world leaders. An ordinary day on the job can include following my boss to testify before Congress or running into former vice president Cheney in the elevator.

And, just like in places abroad, the chance for adventure abounds. I'm surrounded by bigness--which is occasionally translated into greatness. In the midst of “bigness” you find small treasures. Like, the quaint little coffee shop with organic cream and Italian espresso, from where I write now. And the corner window on the third floor of the National Portrait Gallery which humbly boasts the carved initials of a Civil War soldier. Or the whole in the wall cafe with the best Ethiopian food in town.

So while my new playground may not be the Sahara desert or the German countryside, I'm learning my concrete jungle is exactly that--a jungle with plenty of adventure.

Influence trumps truth: the rise of the post-journalistic world

"The honest, disinterested voice of a true journalist carries an authority that no self-branded liberal or conservative can have."

In the October issue of The Atlantic journalist and editor Mark Bowden writes a beautiful piece on the tragic swap of thoughtful reporting for quick, "ammunition" journalism. He revisits the media's treatment of Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. Large news outfits were drawing their clips from political operatives--including bloggers--not professional journalists. And this is not unique to the Sotomayor story. Bowden calls this the post-journalist world. This world is no longer about facts.

Bloggers' intentions are to highlight their side, to build a case for their opinion. On most occasions, blogs are our personal op-ed pages. Words, facts, quotes, even video clips can be manipulated to our liking and disseminated with little fear of harsh consequences. And here, in the blogosphere the value is placed on winning, not accuracy. Influence trumps truth. What a loaded shift that is.

Throughout my journalism education, we were overwhelmed with the importance of reporting true facts, with the virtuous purpose of equiping citizens to sovereignly govern themselves. Journalism had the power to temper fear-mongering and deception often coupled with politics. The rise and maturation of the newspaper provided an invaluable public service. It was the fourth branch of government--the ultimate check. Bowden notes, "Without journalism, the public good is viewed only through a partisan lens, and politics becomes blood sport."

The game of politics has unlikely changed over time. Persuasion has always been a necessary tool and power is always the aim. But there was a healthy caution to the game--provided by the journalist. Now, as hard reporting gives way to the quest for influential banter, truth becomes irrelevant.

The collapse of journalism seems to be a final victory for relativists. But can society truly rest happy in an environment where truth is undecipherable? I'm a strong believer in the power of truth. And therefore, I cannot accept that journalism has seen its best days. One day, truth will rise again.

As Bowden poignantly writes, "Journalism, done right, is enormously powerful precisely because it does not seek power. It seeks truth."

Deja vu?

Recent political slander has been awfully redundant. It seems as if political pundits--and the average American mudslinger--have forgotten parallel events in our recent political history. We're so quick to anger over events that we've defended in the past.

Last week, parents, politicians, activists, and scholars were up in arms over President Obama's plan to address our nation's schoolchildren on Tuesday. (I found some validity to the frustrations, but for reasons beyond the simple address. See last week's post)

This week, Representative Joe Wilson's disrespectful outburst during President Obama's health care address has raised quite a stink--and over a million dollars, too--among liberals of all walks, and moderate or level-headed conservatives.



Likewise, when President George H. W. Bush gave a similar speech to school children in 1991, Democratic lawmakers ordered an investigation and The Washington Post wrote, "The White House turned a Northwest Washington junior high classroom into a television studio and its students into props."

In other similar bout of deja vu, President George W. Bush was booed by Democrats during his State of the Union speech in 2005.



Today, mud slinging is the name of the game--even in prime time media. I certainly don't seek to silence the dissension, that is what makes America so great. And, I happen to agree that our elected officials should respect each other in all arenas, and that any president's address to young and impressionable should be carefully scrutinized. However, let us of be mindful of double standards and think twice before we respond in fury. When we scold a Republican for lashing out against our Democrat president, let's remember that just a few years ago Democrats were booing our Republican president. When we protest our liberal president's address to our children, let's remember we saw a conservative president do the same thing a decade ago.

I think Thomas Paine said it best, "Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice."