Pens, Pixels, Swords, and the Mightiness Thereof

It's true, the best and most important blogging is often done by people who are not paid to do it:

In 2004, [Jane Novak] started her blog, www.armiesofliberation.com, adorned with a Stars and Stripes logo, and soon wrote an article defending Mr. Khaiwani, who was in prison. He wrote her a letter of thanks, addressing it to “Jane Novak, the American journalist and political analyst.”

“Leaders in our region transform into gods,” he wrote. “They even come to believe in their fake holiness, which we aim to shatter, as they know they are humans just like us. Democracy and freedom are not granted by a leader of a regime. It is a worldwide human achievement of all the free people on earth.”

Moved by the letter, Ms. Novak started her first petition campaign on Mr. Khaiwani's behalf. Through translators, the two began corresponding.

“He's just such a nice guy,” Ms. Novak said. “He really believes in democracy, and he's paying the price for it.”

It was months after their first letters before Ms. Novak could bring herself to tell Mr. Khaiwani that she was not, in fact, a journalist and political analyst, but a homemaker blogging on a laptop at home. “I didn't want to tell you before, because I didn't want you to lose hope,” she wrote.

Mr. Khaiwani wrote back to say that the news made him even prouder of her and her work.

This spirit of amateurism is part of what makes blogging vital; the idea that, "hey, I can do that!" is not an insult but an inspiration. It's one of the reasons I hold out hope that some of our faithful commenters (looking at you jayack! the various pauls! s_z! Kathy!) will someday take time off from the incredibly important bias policing they do here and start their own blogs already.

The other reason I wish that is because I would like them to leave me alone.

I kid! I kid! I kid because I love.