Is Addiction a Way towards being a Writer?

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Writing as an Addiction and Addictions for Writing.

Why, in normal course of life we turn to become addicted? Or to put it in more mild way, why we are heavily dependent on one object of passionate desire and why we allow to remain by relying on pursuit of that object for the stability and tranquility in our life henceforth? If the writing and writers are integral parts of the life then why should they be aloof from the comprehensive rules being applied to other forms of equally substantial areas in life? We may easily distinguish between the kind of physical obsession about certain eatables/drinkables and those of constant/mental intellectual needs sought to be satisfied by very intense, uncompromisable habits. But this distinction is not merely to compel us to apply different rules for writers, authors. I did not intend to do so. But going ahead I wish to mark a line of genuine departure point to assert that if writers, artists, thinkers, musicians are worthy of protection from time and again threats of censorship, attack on their freedom of expression and assault on their free way of living, then strangulation of their addictions is certainly one aspect of that suffocation writers may experience.

Then the question asked in the title will certainly come back and haunt us that are addictions way towards being a writer? May be this is not a normative question compelling us to narrow down the choices to only have certain forms of addictions and leaving no other rebuttal option. Addiction if viewed in broader sense not only leaves us with helplessness and overreliance on the cause-du-jure but it also gives writers a cultural sphere in which they can discover their own solitude, they can mingle with the single idea they are engaged in or they can consistently dwell in contemplation about the issues they are disturbed due to. What exactly amounts to addiction in this case? About writers, it does not mean obsession. It does not hint towards being crippled by the availability and non-availability of particular cravings. It is form of lifestyle in which the comfort zones are so infinitely deep and morals are massively high that they continue to live likewise whole of their life disregarding all other material rewards, luxuries and worldly benefits coming out of sheer recognition to their creativity. 

Just as we always listen to the very senior and renowned authors, scientists, artists regularly reflecting on their relation to their work like, “We do not work in our world to earn awards. We live to enjoy that work.”  So this type of courage to say the unobvious things definitely must be coming from that corner of mind where the romance with the hardships and strivings of the unrelenting work resonates with that of solace they find in their habits, customized-uncustomised lifestyle. This romance is possible because these people are able to develop peculiar ways of circumventing the nonsense of daily life by achieving a supreme individual freedom to think, write and express in whichever form they like, at whatever instances and around whatever environment they are living in.

Upto certain point, this discussion about comfort zone is meaningful. Beyond it, I am afraid how far it could withstand analysis. Because every serious effort of writing somehow connects to the diverse issues of life. So, however justified writers could not have luxury to isolate themselves from the pressures of their own livelihood, the compulsions coming due to professional occupation and due to enormity of logistical-administrative issues they handle in their fieldwork. So, I doubt how many people are able to catch this minute thread of addictive passion in their writing. Some people may admit this because they are professionally involved in that or some others may argue about this only because they see writing as one of the platforms or means to achieve larger material goals in life. But what about the people for whom writing is the only mean, only goal, only way of living, only way of dying. They cannot think of anything except writing about the ideas, ideologies, delicate relations, virtues, values, emotions and likewise.

How do writers could manage the painful task of sustaining losses in their own life and still continue to move ahead on the front of writing. In one way or another different ways of addictions actually gives us a feeling about what to compromise and what not. For example, any passionate addiction normally compels us to sell anything to continue that. But here we are thinking about the addictions which are indispensible for creating and personal or social ambience to nurture, to blossom, to emerge into the realm of momentum where there is no other need to satisfy the cravings of the body and mind. Only that unique passionate desire inhaled in the form of unending association is enough to inspire our experiments with letters.

So standing for addiction in creative world and rejecting the right to promote material obsessions of addictions in public life are not biased approaches. We can debate on that also. This may perceive a genuine bias towards elites, a strong leniency towards the people who can afford the luxury of relaxing in unique loneliness to pursue their goals compared to the communities suffering for a little bread and butter requirement. But while taking a laid back seat to think more carefully will allow us be able to appreciate this kind of freedom. This liberty is meant for giving a exclusive bias for people who are supposed to make use of that for developing traits and skills employable for if not immediately solving but at least addressing, describing and debating the issues of the larger people outside that ambience.

I am not going for sudden and urgent itinerary so as to cultivate such pursuit of novel addictions. In fact, I realize that I have many such shades of habits ingrained in my life which always remind me about uncompromisable need to write every other time I wake up for breakfast and every other evening when I go down the memory lane and for dreams. But I strongly feel the need to have this value in my life to uplift me to the level of a living where I can sustain my writing as an addiction and also I can cultivate a addiction which can shape my writing in unique fashion so that I will be more than happy to embrace to those moments as very proud because then there is no need of any other pleasure because I and my addiction will be made for each other.

It is hard to agree that I have emerged to think like this. It is not easy to leave everything behind and get along with only one single passion when you know that things you left behind may be of greater significance and relevance than the things we continue to adore and seek. But the kind of addiction we acquire over a period of time, in that work of writing, around that quest of scripting the mind and life, during that painful experiences in which we compromise many things; I do not thing I will never ever regret the shameless marriage to addiction for betterment of my writing. Because that will determine why I live and not the things which I left behind. However crude, irresponsible it may seem; the place of passionate obsession is unique in the solitary world of literature, scholarship and reporting the life. I will be pained to lose the heritage, treasure of writing only because I refused to ally with some kind of addiction. Instead, I will lap and leap for the passion it signifies if it helps me to evoke my imagination for making writing worth living and dying for. 

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Public Diplomacy in Information Age: Towards the Idea of Soft Power!

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Over the years, image of diplomatic community has been largely driven by what American Editor Caskie Stinnett said, “A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.” The times are changing, they would certainly do. To describe what lies ahead for Diplomacy of the 21^st century we will be guided by what Robert Frost said in 19^th century, “A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.” In understanding shift in these two subtle quotes lays the emerging transition of diplomacy. Today we are debating whether death of Ambassador, of Foreign Correspondent and of an Editor is imminent or not. The embassies across the world are reinventing to engage the national citizens, Virtual Communities of respective Diasporas and groups mobilizing Public Opinion on vast cyberspace. So where we are heading? Is it really a border-less world as some religious proponents of globalization think? On the contrary, are we living in multiple concentric borders of social, economic and cultural spheres within the sovereign nation state which itself are subject to the vicious campaign of state and non-state actors through the strategies of war, humanitarian intervention and latest being the Public Diplomacy? 

Public Diplomacy is a seamless web which travels across different exercises of Public Affairs, Public Relations and Public Understanding of the Foreign Policy. Considering this phenomena thriving on democratic virtues, governments across the world representing the public which elect them to office cannot move on to exclude the massive energy, wisdom and emotions of the people they rule. On the other side, governments cannot afford to lose the opportunity to influence, engage and interact with the citizens of foreign country in which the foreign policy is being directed at. It is assumed that in the modern world like us, people should have freedom of expression which in a way includes right to know, right to disagree and right to share the ideas, goods and civilization values for which they stand for. So, relevance, interest and comprehension of the issues surrounding the livelihood of the citizens are taken into account to sustain the survival of the strategic priorities of the nations they represent. This process helps governments to connect to the key institutions, communities and nations in the outer world to form the core operational framework of the Public Diplomacy in the Information Age. 

Is Public Diplomacy another name for Propaganda? Hard power is exercised and soft power is evoked. If we are to understand the concept of soft power can we neglect how the hard power is exercised? End of cold war created the hope that now the Peace will prevail. Instead, we witnessed wars in Iraq, Kosovo, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Georgia and at many other places. Increasingly states are using the ‘force multiplier ‘of humanitarian intervention to achieve the goals embedded in the strategic doctrine. Still, nations are feeling the urgent need to reach out to the civil society which constitutes the Public Opinion. So, increasingly engaging this significant public opinion which can create Public Pressure through mass media, social media, social platforms, institutional think tanks, academic institutions and cultural exchanges can certainly change the way foreign policy is conducted; from hard to soft ways. 

Governments are considering that Public diplomacy is public good for ‘Public Good.’ The success of it depends on clarity and persuasion of the information and argument. Challenge lies in real time interaction, advocacy and communication of the facts. We are witnessing dynamic media seeking relentless cooperation from the governments for true, comprehensive and sensitive feedback from time to time. We are flooded with the hyperactive mobilization of the anger and frustration due to the sudden events recorded and proliferated through Facebook, Youtube, Orkut, LinkedIn, and MySpace etc. World has witnessed enormous increase in mobile users.

 After developed countries, developing and least developed countries are fast catching up with the internet penetration. Direct to home technology is giving the citizens of the world the ease to access any news channel and source of dynamic developments at their remote doorsteps. There are more journalists outside media organization in the form of citizen journalists. It is interesting to note that in the times when Corporate India contend that privacy laws are being subverted by publishing tapes related to 2G scandal, in the outer world Jullian Assenge has stood for Whistle-blowing and went ambitiously ahead to expose the secret diplomatic conversation which he believed was within public interest. 

Well, Public Diplomacy is no abstract term. It is the same traditional the foreign policy practice with new packaging. It is about listening. After all, listening to the grievances, aspirations and thoughts of the people inside and outside the country is hallmark of this engagement. It is about planning the capacity building to anticipate and response to the events in the making. It is about avoiding the delays; because delayed message is lost message. To identify the source of the information creating the tensions and thus to locate the human and other logistical resources to respond to that information flow is the priority in this exercise. It is about advocacy and statesmanship. It is about promotion and strengthening of cultural bonds between two countries. It is about fostering the mechanisms of exchanges whether in commerce, education, research and development. It is about state supported news dissemination.
 
Even though scholars believe that Public Diplomacy term was invented by USA diplomat Edmund Gullion, it is noteworthy to note what legendary US reporter Edward Murrow said: “Truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.” Murrow worked in London for few years during the years of Second World War. Historians say that Murrow was only foreign correspondent who was allowed to report war from the rooftops when Germans were bombing London. Some even guess that Churchill deliberately supported Murrow to get the point across to USA so as to compel them to join war at the earliest. 

So, pyramid of Public Diplomacy comprises Advocacy, Profile raising and Relationship building. The new context of PD includes new players: International Organizations, Non Governmental Organisations, CEOs, Non State Actors, new social media, Scientists, Artists, Vice Chancellors of reputed Universities, Authors of legendary literature, thinkers, social activists, innovators, environmentalists and everyone who can influence this communication for definite purpose. When India launches campaign ‘!ncredible !ndia’, the credibility of the image of Indian society which can host, which can sustain the values of liberty, fraternity and equality with wide diversity of language, regions and cultures is at the stake. There is new vocabulary of Branding being cooked up outside there. But it comes with the emphasis on openness in sophisticated attitude, global perspective and political behavior. The new multilateral partnerships are being forged on the old limits of bilateral cooperation. New theory of soft power is being tested in the context of uncompromisable and unforgettable hard power reality. 

So, which are the things which matter for Public Diplomacy? Public Opinion matters because that holds the capacity to shape the social changes, create demand for particular action by the national government. Communicators need to spend more and more resources for that. Listening matters. Diplomat, bureaucracy surely do not have most answers. The expertise in the open society must be consulted and asked for advice. Transparency in the transactions of the communication is must prerequisite. Timing and coordination of delivery of the messages is most significant. Public diplomacy is all about relationships, so individuals matter. Connecting individual to address their interests can create stronger bonds rather than just harping on the rhetoric of power.

Diasporas matter because they are the virtual countries outside the sovereign boundaries. They represent the values the native land stand for. They propagate the assets, strengths, food habits, heritage and culture of the country they come from. They carry out messages. They are the biggest broadcasters of this diplomacy. Initiatives in the information dissemination matter because lack of it may create confusion and may lead toward creeping in of rival point of view which may not be of the interest of the country.

 Understanding, respecting and accommodating the spirit of dissent matters because it gives a strong message of democratic ethos beyond the borders. Dissent represents plurality, diversity of views in best way. Celebration of dissent is a best statesmanship. Mutuality matters because it leads towards reinforcing sympathetic and sensitive recognition of co-existence. Partnerships matters, by all means. Issues of development cannot be solved without partnerships. Policy matters as they are the backbone of what governments stand for. Small stories of the people interest matter because they magnify the realities of the rude world in a delicate manner. After all, eventually success matters, so efficient execution of the programs, initiatives and debate of the issues of interest to the concerned stake holders. 

Economic development, education opportunities, relation building across the borders, business ventures, transnational alliance for R&D are some of the powerful elements of Public Diplomacy keeps going. Architecture, Aesthetics and Beauty of the ancient, medieval and modern heritage remain the icon of this engagement. Pristine nature and exotic environment in the tropical countries are appealing for the tourism so as to consolidate the gains of being undeveloped so long. Emerging cities based on success of free market mechanism are en- cashing the fruits of globalization so as to attract talent and investment for their own sustenance.

 The discussion about Public Diplomacy inevitably leads towards that of quest of soft power. The term of Soft Power is coined by Joseph Nye who originally contributed to the idea of neoliberal institutionalism. Soft power has quality of attractiveness. It embraces media to explain change. It projects moral forces like His Holiness Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and others. When exercising hard power is becoming extremely hard roots of the soft power can be discovered in the culture people of the country live. In conveying the status of soft power, it is more important to express “Who we are...” rather than “What we want to show...” Other point of views also exists. Some believe that power cannot be soft at all. Soft power is a matter of projecting influence of self. ‘Cultural Diplomacy’ is a better way to put it. People anyway interact with each other, across the borders. But governments have the resources to achieve it in smooth manner. French invented the Public Diplomacy through celebration of their culture. Today Public Diplomacy seems more than relevant when there are ideologies are declining and state speech is becoming more and more blur. It may not substitute traditional diplomacy but it will certainly lead towards creating the vision of the new world in coming days ahead of us. 

Public diplomacy is not only about the conversation about the issues outside the country to people inside country or vice versa. Existence, sustenance, progress of the country depends on the country`s ability to address to the core pressing issues of development inside the country. So when NY Times reported that in the decade when USA should have been chasing China to compete with it, USA was chasing Al-Qaida. When President Obama comes India, biggest foreign policy issue for him was not nuclear energy or permanent seat in Security Council for India but the jobs, health care and the tax cuts back in the country. Everything is related to everything. So, when we attribute the mess in J&K to Pakistan, chaos in North East to Bangladesh & China, war waged by Maoists to Red corridor going through Nepal and further; are we convinced that we have solved all the domestic challenges and it is only famous ‘Foreign Hand’ which is involved in the conspiracy towards destabilizing India. Real Public Diplomacy starts with listening, talking to domestic speakers, dissent, anger and dissatisfaction about government and nation at large the constitution of which starts with the words “We, The People of India...!”

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