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What is our Objective in Writing Articles? By Ibrahim Turner. What is our Objective in Writing Articles? Do we want to inform others of some information about say, the Neocons, Bush’s lies, the poor Iraqis or the Palestinians in Gaza? Do we want to convince others of what we believe in, like some demented evangelical minister giving out ‘Christian coins’ to Iraqis? What is our motivation – I would really like to hear from other writers. Some might say we like the sound of our own voices, so to speak, or that we have such enormous egos that we are desperate to see our name in print, even if we don’t get paid for our efforts. One thing is for sure. Everyone who writes for progressive sites, just like the right wing sites, has an agenda, whether they know it or not. Broadly speaking you can spot the agenda of an article very easily, especially if it’s one that you don’t like. Hilary supporters writing against Obama or Obama supporters against Hillary or McCain. They want to convince you to join their side, and sometimes they are not very subtle about it. With a few, it’s like the proverbial alcoholic who desperately wants you to join him in a drink, so as to comfort himself in his disease. Politics can be like that. But the best writers, in my opinion, are the ones that lead you gently in a logical way from the first idea to the second and onto the main point, which is to inform you of something which they wish you to not only know but also take in and understand, even to provoke the reader to do something about it. But seriously – why do I write? What do I want to get out of it? And if I have a clear objective, how close does the article come to it? We all have to judge for ourselves on that. But for me, this examination of my objective/s is ongoing and I hope will lead somewhere. The answer might be as mundane as ‘filling in time with something that’s the latest fad, (for me) until the grim reaper arrives’ kind of thing. Or most likely, anger at what Bush and Blair have got away with, along with all the Neocons and Israeli Likudites and similar lowlifes. And as for those bait and switch Democrats, and the ‘shadow government’ of international bankers… Anger and frustration can be a driving force for all these words it’s true, but the ‘opposition’ have an agenda, a network, are organized and have cunning and intelligence. So how can I (we) rail against their dastardly deeds more effectively? And on a similar note, how can we (I) wake up the sleeping, ill-informed people who still will not see what is happening under their very noses? Writing a very nice article that gets published on OPEDNews is all very well, but it soon disappears off the front page, perhaps with a few comments, for or against, but never to be seen again. What have I accomplished? Are the Neocons quacking in their shoes? Are Bush and Blair more likely, because of my writings, to be hauled before The Hague? Not very likely is it? So why do we do it? What do we really want to happen by writing, commenting and the like? I’ll give you an example. I wrote an article about the atrocities being committed by the Israelis in the Palestinians because someone from the Middle East sent me some pictures asking me to forward them to everyone I know, in order to break the silence of the Mainstream media about such things. At the end I said that anyone who wanted to see the pictures should send me their email address. Well I got nearly 300 requests and they are still trickling in. So, objective fulfilled. Many more people saw those pictures than before I wrote the article. But is that the whole story, or is it even true? Quite a few people said they had seen them before and some sent me other pictures and slide shows of a similar nature. So what did I achieve really? On the plus side, (for me) I made contact with several people who sent me things that were not directly related to Palestine that I had not heard of before, about 9-11 for instance, and I had looked at quite a lot of stuff about that before. It also prompted me to write another article about all these disparate groups around the world doing stuff in isolation and the need for more support and co-operation between us all. After all, the Neocons are supported and co-operate extremely successfully don’t they? And they are in positions of power, which we (I) are not. There is all the more need for co-operation and organization to swell our numbers.
A well traveled and slightly worse for wear 72 year old Englishman; widower, several children and grandchildren and a penchant for wondering 'what is the hidden agenda' in almost everything I read. A keen interest in American culture (an oxymoron?) (JOKE!) and politics and an international world view, except where I haven't got first hand experience of the parts of the world I have not visited. Editor of some books about the Qur'an and Islam. Teacher of English in little known countries like Mauritania, Istanbul, Turkey and Morocco.
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