Dissident - And Good At It

Some individuals out there are content about being sexy (in their mind) and ''knowing it'' - even, sometimes, singing about it (LMFAO - literally) and others are simply content with blogging about trivial and material things - such as shoes, purses, video games, software in general or collectibles of all kinds. That may be all fine and good for the masses that they represent, but such topics will not elevate the fine art of blogging one iota above the mundane - ever.

Thankfully, there are others out there, in the so-called blogosphere, that treat it extremely seriously indeed: two individuals come to mind - Ola Larsmo and Elnaz Baghlanian, respectively the publisher and editor of The Dissident Blog which is, in turn, really a sort-of subsidiary of Swedish PEN making all sorts of materials available to the English-speaking world that might otherwise miss it all entirely.

Activism is on the rise; as well it should be. Many claim that the citizens of the world are finally AWAKENING; protests on the four corners of the globe appear to lend credence to that, as never before in history has there been so many rights been demanded for by so many at the same time.  Be that in Greece, Bulgaria, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal or in Arab countries, people finally seem to have had enough of all the wool being pulled over their eyes by corrupt so-called ''leaders'' totally unworthy of the title and position of power they have come to hold.

The Dissident Blog focuses upon Iran in their latest ''issue'' (as they are so professionally-inclined, they treat each and every monthly update of their blog as a full-fledged issue, complete with many articles and as many contributors, too!) - but throughout their rather short experience (the Iran issue is indeed only issue #9) they have followed, condoned and supported all manners of dissident and activist actions throughout the world: championing that most precious of all things in the modern world - freedom.  Or, to quote William Wallace most properly, ''freeeeeeeeeeeeedommmmmmmmmmm''...

In our modern context, it is freedom of speech, of course - or so it is in most cases. Outright oppression of another human being's right to liberty is officially reprehensible in every nation that calls itself civilized today - although we know that there have been and there continues to be numerous breaches to that universal rule, otherwise Amnesty International would have nothing to decry...

The Dissident Blog, for its part, focuses intensely upon freedom of speech: it was appreciative of Pussy Riot’s defence speech, underlining that it is ''a text that has already been called one of the most important rhetorical manifestations of the freedom of speech in modern Russia''.  Although it immediately underlined the importance of another course of action, steadfast and constant, for it is a battle that is fought in the trenches, grinding it out on a day-to-day basis, rather than be hoped to be won in one swift, spectacular revolutionary act garnering all the media attention in the process.  It is a war of everyday and it is meant to be won bit by bit, in all the little things that are, in fact, big things: education, culture, being well-informed, being in-sync with the times you are living in...

For, whether we like it or not, politics affect our lives and even fashion it.  We might as well get political, so as to be a part of that process that effectively shapes us all...  Our voices matter!

To sum it up succinctly, what could be better than to quote the publisher herself who, in an editorial for issue #6, said it all in these very powerful words right here:

“freedom of speech is defended 

through tenacity and endurance, 

not by one-off actions”

Indeed! 

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