Re: Happy Birthday Ara Baliozian!
TO EACH HIS OWN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In a well-organized society everyone is assigned
a specific role: a brain surgeon performs brain
surgery, a bus driver drives a bus, and a
policeman catches thieves.
I write because I am a writer.
It is up to my peers to determine whether I am a
good or a bad writer, and even they will not
claim infallibility.
It has never even occurred to me, as a writer,
to tell a surgeon, a bus driver, or a policeman
what to do. And yet, I am constantly confronted
by individuals who feel fully qualified to tell
me what and how to write.
I am not saying readers are not qualified to
express an opinion. As a writer, I welcome
criticism. I am even grateful to my critics
because they have been and continue to be a
constant source of stimulation to me.
What I object to is guidance; what I reject is
censorship; and what I am saying is, none of us
is qualified to be a commissar of culture.
Commissars of culture belong to police states and
their function is to suppress free speech and
selfless intellectual labor. Which is why I never
tire of saying and repeating: Thank God we live
in a democracy!
TO EACH HIS OWN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In a well-organized society everyone is assigned
a specific role: a brain surgeon performs brain
surgery, a bus driver drives a bus, and a
policeman catches thieves.
I write because I am a writer.
It is up to my peers to determine whether I am a
good or a bad writer, and even they will not
claim infallibility.
It has never even occurred to me, as a writer,
to tell a surgeon, a bus driver, or a policeman
what to do. And yet, I am constantly confronted
by individuals who feel fully qualified to tell
me what and how to write.
I am not saying readers are not qualified to
express an opinion. As a writer, I welcome
criticism. I am even grateful to my critics
because they have been and continue to be a
constant source of stimulation to me.
What I object to is guidance; what I reject is
censorship; and what I am saying is, none of us
is qualified to be a commissar of culture.
Commissars of culture belong to police states and
their function is to suppress free speech and
selfless intellectual labor. Which is why I never
tire of saying and repeating: Thank God we live
in a democracy!
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