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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Luce Wildebeest who wrote (44949)	11/4/2003 5:42:49 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

The Shadow of Oscar Wilde <My father's inheritance is startling originality whilst my mother's gift is moral certainity and unemotional skepticism, which has led me to rationally question every aspect of existence.> Hullo y'all. Had a very hectic weekend and got home at 5am two nights in the row. I'm not a particular fan of clubbing, since I don't drink alcohol, but since I hate sleeping I enjoy the experience of staying up all night. I only tend to sleep if I have to (thankfully I'm not an insomniac) and therefore I'm usually quite enthusiastic for ideas that extends well into the night. Over the weekend I met this very interesting chap, who was a classmate of my brother from Islamabad. Now it was the usual reunion in the sense that it occured after a considerable period of time for the differences to emerge. I was surprised beyond my wits at the transformation of this young man and considerably heartened by the society emerging in Pakistan. Having not visited the fatherland, Iran being the motherland of course, for nearly four years I have been somewhat isolated from the society. But especially over the past year as former schoolmates emigrate abroad to study at Western universities, contacts are being reignited and I'm regaining some knowledge of the life in Pakistan. Pakistan's economy is burgeoning, from what I hear, and the lag that once existed with the West in terms of cultural sophistication is disappearing rapidly. Whence only a few years ago it would take half a year for an American movie to be distributed in the video shops now because of dvds (and naturally piracy) releases in America are immediately distributed in Pakistan as well. Pakistan's isolation with the rest of world is lessening and it's integration is continuing apace. Furthermore every Pakistani I know, basically from the liberal pro-democratic bulwarks, appreciate Prez Musharraf and what's he done for the country. I intuitively knew that Musharraf would be good for the country since his ascent to power and this belief seems to have borne out. This "rightness" of mine led to this friend likening me to Oscar Wilde. When he first told me this comment I was somewhat taken aback because I thought he under the impression I drove on the wrong side of the ride. Of course I was later informed that the analogy was based upon Wilde's "continual preference for making opinions on anything and everything but furthermore being god-damned right in every one of them". Naturally I was quite grateful for the compliment and notwitstanding false modesty could see where he was coming from. My father's inheritance is startling originality whilst my mother's gift is moral certainity and unemotional skepticism, which has led me to rationally question every aspect of existence. Unhindered by emotion or discernable partiality I have always been able to form insightful opinions on life that nobody else seems to have come up with. For instance others have always though that I have an irrational bias for Pakistan over India but many do not know that in my youth in Pakistan I was a deep Indophile, impressed by Hindu culture and civilisation. However after educating myself I have come to see Pakistan not merely an act of providence but a deepseated recognition as the cosmopolitan centre of Islamic civilisation. Historically wedded and detached from the Sub-continent by virtue of geography and invasion yet adhering to a value system, strikingly compatible to Islam, Pakistan is the natural leader of the Islamic Crescent. It has been cultivated at the hands of the British, tempered by the monsoons of South Asia yet disciplined by austerity of the Arab East. It is not yet known because all news reports graphically mention the bloodshed of this nascent leader but within a few decades the land of the Pure will be the region to which all Muslims will orient themselves to. I am certain of this because it is merely history unfolding. Anyway I don't mean to pontificate any longer since I am meant to start a few projects at work soon. Therefore I will leave my handful of readers with the words "I am not a writer". I may indulge in the vain poems, from time to time, and write obscure pieces on Islamic theology but I do not take myself to even be an amateur writer. This is because I write merely to store and express my ideas in a written format. I do believe myself original but I am certain that I lack the natural style of writing, that I know very few people have. I haven't noticed often in blogosphere because most writing tends to be of a more colloquial variety. I have known very few people, who I thought had this gift and though I may be accused of nepotism I believe it to be in my oldest brother. However whilst he has a natural writing style I still do not take him to be a writer because his temperament and career focus lies elsewhere. However the same friend I discussed earlier is a born writer. His raffish manner, restrained mannerisms, keen observations and well-timed wit strongly lends the impression of his destiny. To be a writer is to observe, to narrate, to faithfully record what happened but lend a texture and depth that can only stem from a natural talent. It is to have the tendency to meld instead of mould the milieu whilst maintaining a constant awareness of the big picture and little specks. Writing is a raw talent, which can be cultivated from the great works but never acquired from them. It is to weave the uniqueness of character in every work and imbue every word with a depth so that the reader is left with a subtle but distinct impression. Knowing myself these qualities rather mine is to think up new thoughts and new ideas for the human condition. My writing is merely an outgrowth of that trait and nothing more, much as my love of history. Whilst I am not a scientist I have this deep impulse to explain the greater story and understand it to the best of my ability. However I know a writer when I see one and this weekend I met my first great author of that I am sure. Zachary Latif 07:13 www.latif.blogspot.com