That’s what a friend asked me a few days ago. She asked if I had read an article about Iran-US relations and at first, I lied. I said yes, I had. Half an hour later, after much discussion about the article, I admitted I hadn’t read it. Not only that, I hardly read anything on iranian.com. I don’t even read anything about Iran. I read headlines. Thank god for headlines! They make my life a lot easier. I get all the information I need (can handle) from those few words. News is bad news. I’m not going to read that nonsense. It drives me up the wall! You know what I read online? dlisted.com and the BBC’s Business and Science section stories. That’s it!
“So,” she said as politely as she could possibly be: “Do you consider yourself a journalist?”
“A journalist? Absolutely not! I’m a publisher.”
My journalism days have long passed. I was at a very important human rights conference in Maryland a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t take one picture or write a single blog. I thought the program was great. The guests speakers were wonderful. And it is very significant that human rights has risen so high on our list of priorities. Still, I preferred to sit, listen and watch. Many bloggers and news outlets covered the event. There was no need for me to add my two cents, really.
You know what I like to do? Write about personal stuff. Why? I don’t know. I just do. Once in a while I’ll blurt out a blog about how disgusting the Islamic Republic is and preach about how great freedom and democracy are. But am I saying anything new? Am I saying anything different or more profound than what most Iranians are saying, writing and thinking?
As a publisher, I do the best to make sure the most important and interesting things related to Iran and Iranians are covered on this site. But personally, my interests are trivial. Nothing grand. My feet and how clean they are… that’s what I think about. Love… what the hell is it? That’s what I think about. Going through life with eyes wide open (whatever that means/is), that’s what occupies my days. Especially now that I’m back in my cave in Budapest.
