“Journalism is an act of hope. It rests on the conviction that excavating the truth makes a difference, that sunlight is a disinfectant for government, that reporting can be a battering ram on behalf of people suffering injustice. I’ve lost friends because they stood up to dictators and fought to uncover wrenching truths—in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Somalia and elsewhere. Other friends have been imprisoned or tortured. A Kurdish journalist I know has still not recovered after he was imprisoned for his writing and his wife was brought in and raped in front of him. I honor these journalists, and I know their work made a difference. I’ve seen how accountability journalism can get officials jailed while extricating innocent people from prison. The spotlight of journalism can raise the cost of torture, war and genocide and save vast numbers of lives.”
Nicholas D. Kristof, Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life, Knopf, 2024, p 13.
I like to learn from my reading and also to enjoy that learning. Here’s another example from Chasing Hope:
“This penchant for bad news misinforms the public. In polls, a majority of Americans say that world poverty is getting worse. That is false. One of the most stunning trends of my lifetime has been an extraordinary decline in global poverty, disease and illiteracy. When I graduated from college, more than 40 percent of the world’s people were still living in “extreme poverty”—equivalent or a bit more than $2 per person per day in today’s money. Adjusted for inflation, fewer than 10 percent now live at that level, pp 329-30. . . . Just about the worst thing that can happen to any person is to lose a child. Until the early nineteenth century, almost half of all humans died in childhood. Now that’s down to about 4 percent,” p 330.
Thank You for reading, JoAnnLordahl.com
[My apologies: Reading, Writing currently consumes most of my dwindling energy.]
