I really tried to avoid saying bloggers unite! As independent writers we need to celebrate the independence we have discovered...
I have often wondered whether the inventor of the Internet (Steve Jobs wasn't it?) knew just how his discovery would transform our world, our everyday activities. Aside from speeding up everything by making the minutiae of opinion and world events instantly available to everyone, it has meant that we can also share our thoughts and passions with the whole world. Of course, this has its drawback and some of the more repugnant world views and ideologies have found a larger stage but it is truly the case that everyone is now a critic. On a lesser note it has also led to some truly atrocious writing being given a wider audience but far be it from me to quash individuals right to free speech! Now all of us can put a voice to our reviews of film, TV and restaurant and our voices can be heard and shared around the globe in seconds. There is no place to hide and, as World Leaders are finding to their cost, every word or deed is scrutinised and not just by the paid press. The rise of the blogger has been a wonderful and , for some, unexpected event and as our voices grow ever louder it is from this corner of the Internet that governments will be toppled.
In days gone by and before people like me discovered Word Press and Blogger the world of reviewing was the sole domain of the paid critic. Yes of course, the odd amateur would try their hand from time to time but no one really got to see their work except on a very local level. How the world has changed with the more cutting of Production groups and PR machines actively courting both the pen of the professional critic and blogger at the same time. Yet, you still come across the odd dinosaur who pours ridicule over the blogger and their amateur ramblings. Comments such as "Well we haven't got any proper critics" or "bloggers aren't taken seriously really are they" can be over heard and I have to say outright, this opinion is as wrong as it is offensive. Are the exponents of these views really seriously expecting us to accept that simply because someone is paid to write it automatically means that their opinions are better expressed? Are we to believe that people like the horrendous Hopkins women and others like her have a right to a larger forum because they are paid to spout their poison? There are bad writers in both the paid and unpaid arenas but this isn't just about money, whatever they say!
When you are a contracted writer, be you press or critic, you are paid to put pen to paper (words to screen) Depending on the organisation you write for, you have to reflect not just your own views but defend the reputation of those you write for. As we have seen with the recent coverage of political events, the main stream media is horribly biased with a favouring of the Government view and support of Brexit. The reason you have seen no real coverage of the outrageous treatment of the most vulnerable in our society (migrant and disabled alike) is due to the writers paymasters not wishing to upset the apple cart. Power, it seems, is a bigger influencer than the desire to seek the truth to shine a light on the lies that are destroying our country. This is not something that sways the blogger and all over our damaged countries people are angrily writing. Their outpourings are shared and re shared and their voices join with others who share their hatred of the broken society we live in. This voice or voices led to Angela Rudd being held to account, if only on social media, for her four time refusal to bow to the rule of the courts. She broke the law four times and had it not been for the blogger, the casual reporter, an innocent man could have lost his life. I wish to say, at this point, that I have also read some tremendous articles from professional writers who are also not staying silent and risk losing their jobs every day as they attempt to hold to account those who are acting without love and without mercy. But it is the blogger who can write with impunity and it is the blogger that will continue to scream and shout when our government attempts to destroy what we all hold so dear.
You see, when you blog you express an opinion an important one. YOURS! When you blog you place on record your view, you share your passion, your anger and you demonstrate to those who hold power that you will not be so easily silenced. People are easy to control, to manipulate when they accept without questioning what is told them. We are in chains when we allow ourselves to be moved without questioning, when we think what others tell us we must. We are at our most dangerous when we ask WHY and when we blog we shout from the rooftops that we will not simply do without knowing why we must. Together we stand and it easier to stand together when we express our opinions and let our fire run untempered. May I challenge you to question motives when they seem at odds with the words that are being spoken? We stand at a cliff edge with a government that seems to want to pitch us over into uncertainty and yes I am proud to be anti Brexit. I looked into the facts surrounding the issues and believe that to leave will hurt us. Don't agree with me? That's fantastic! but be prepared to challenge back with facts you discover yourself! Share your opinion and debate with others because our democracy dies the day we stop blogging like we mean it!
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