Media Freedom

Good morning!

I cannot believe that it is Thursday already. This week has flown by! I have seen so much that I've wanted to write about, but by the time I have gotten home from work, hit the gym, eaten dinner, and guzzled a glass of pinotage in front of a Disney movie, it is time for bed! No time for blogging! So, given that the cleaning girl is in my apartment at the moment, I took the opportunity to come into the office a bit early today and have decided to blog before the boss-man arrives.

The women in my life have been cutting me no slack these last couple of days. I'm battling a stomach bug and Debbie, my all-seeing office coordinator who has basically assumed control of most aspects of my life, has conjured up about seventy-five home remedies for me to take. When I wave them off, I get the evil eye and the promise that I'll take them whether I like it or not! So I've been watching my coffee skeptically all week. My problem with taking medicine is that so much of it makes you tired and we have so much on at work this week that I just cannot afford to be tired!

Then, yesterday, I waited for the cleaning girl all morning and left late for work when she had not appeared. I just assumed I'd gotten her schedule wrong. As it turns out, she had just been running late and I accidentally locked her out. Whoops. So, this morning rolls around and she's knocking on my door at seven! I let her in and she scolds me for locking her out, then scolds me for having so much laundry, then scolds me for not having tea and toast for her, then scolds me for forgetting about her next week (because she's already assuming I'll do so). Then I accidentally took her keys and she scolded me for that! I cannot catch a break. So, I arrive at work, and our wonderful kitchen woman, Lizzie, is breezing about and offers me coffee. I say - "yes my darling - and what a lovely scarf you're wearing today!" Her face turns sad and she says "I will wear this forever because I am mourning my husband." Whoops. I suck.

So, I'm on a roll. And we've got eight billion things going on at the office! We're moving to the open plan today - which should be fun. And we have a conference next Tuesday to Thursday, which I am looking forward to but also dreading, as I have to give a presentation to our directors. Scary. But the conference is at a beautiful old mansion in the Free State. The house is called Prynnsburg. On the one hand, the whole experience seems a bit too Tara (of Gone With the Wind fame) for me. I mean - in a country that is only about ten years out of laws worse than Jim Crow, it seems a little insensitive to go party at a plantation. However, the venue seems to have a lot of cultural value, with everything from old churches to caves with bushman art. And clay pigeon shooting, of course. I am praying praying praying that I don't have a Dick Cheney moment on that one.

Well, enough venting. Life is still fantastic down here. It has been sunny and about 85 degrees (around 27 degrees, Euro friends). One thing that I've loved about Johannesburg is the massive thunderstorms. Perhaps because of Johannesburg's high elevation (something with air pressure - I'm reaching the limits of my meteorological knowledge here), there are quite a few storms, especially in summer time (I still get so confused about it being summer here from November to February). So I've spent quite a few nights curled up on the couch listening to thunder and torrential downpours. And then, by the time you wake up - it is sunny and dry!

Speaking of waking up - I know there aren't tons of magical wildlife creatures in the actual city of Johannesburg. However, I am positively convinced that there is a family of monkeys living in the tree outside of my bedroom windows. They must be wee little monkeys, as I've yet to glimpse them, but they sound super monkey-esque. Not like bird-monkey noises. Actual angry baboon screeching monkey music! It's quite distracting, but I have trouble getting too upset about it because it makes me feel like a wild jungle explorer.

I know I'm not making a ton of sense today (Debbie has probably spiked my morning coffee), but one thing I wanted to mention is Media Freedom Day. Just this past Monday (October 19) was the 32nd Media Freedom Day here in South Africa. Apparently, on October 19, 1977, several newspapers were banned by the white-ruled apartheid government because they were seen as biased in favour of black rights. Can you believe that such oppression was allowed so recently? And it was not until 1994 (!!!!) that apartheid was disbanded and most (not all by quite a stretch) of these injustices ended.

Now I am not going to get up on a soap box and preach in one way or the other. But I get very offended by media restrictions. That is the whole reason I got my Master's Degree in Communication Regulation - because I genuinely feel (as most people do I think) that (a) everyone should have the freedom to express their personal views without being penalized and (b) the media should be allowed to broadcast the truth in any situation. There are all sorts of tricky conundrums surrounding both of these points (who determines what the truth is? what if someone's personal views are harmful to others? where should the line be drawn in terms of shielding the public from violence or obscenity?). My opinion on these matters is pretty clear cut. First of all - I really believe there are no crimes of the mind. So if someone expresses a thought, whether violent or crazy, it is the action that is illegal, not the thought. That is what makes us human - the ability to have an urge to do something and to stop it because of our conscience. And second, I don't think it is the media's job to filter anything. The media should express the truth (and all sides of the truth - the truth on Fox and the truth on CNN are very different and it is great to have both sides). We get into all of these arguments about what should be shown to children and such - I really think it is a parent's role to get involved and know what their child is viewing/downloading/playing - the media should remain a relatively unfiltered conduit.

Anyways, that is as preachy as you will see me get. I just got so fired up watching television on Monday and hearing from a man who had been jailed for ten years for his writings in a newspaper. Ten years behind bars because his opinions went against the status quo. Hindsight is 20/20, but it is still devastating to think that this man was jailed for so long and he turned up to be on the right side - the side that won (or is winning - not over yet). At least if he'd been in jail for so long and he was wrong then we could say something nice about the justice system, if nothing else.

This is just another reason that I am loving it down here in South Africa. In addition to being a land of nature and discovery, it is also a place where the wounds of political and social struggle still haven't completely scarred over. And while it is so sad to see that equality has not yet been achieved, it is also inspiring to see people fight for the cause and to see both sides try to reach a positive conclusion. It just shows that there is so much work to be done and that humans are really capable of moving in the right direction. (All this hopeful freedom speech makes me want to listen to "Independence Day" by Martina McBride - or better yet, listen to Katie Turiak sing it at karaoke).

On that note, I need to get moving! I have a new desk coming up to the open plan - let's hope it is dark enough that they won't notice coffee stains!!!

PS - I'm just discovering Bruce Springsteen thanks to the boss. Who knew he was so good?

Mike