Don’t suppress people’s creative fire
by ken winston caine
It is a sin in the evolutionary process of God to try to suppress another’s creative spirit.
– Paramahansa Yogananda
I think so.
Yet so often we do it.
In fact, I’ve wandered in and out of the news business for 3-1/2 decades for this very reason. I have a love-hate relationship with reporting.
It can be such a force for good. And it can so inherently destructive. And a reporter doesn’t get to choose between the two.
A reporter is required to operate within certain news standards and news values.
Newspeople are taught and expected to be hard-nosed professional skeptics: Critics who challenge everything and are constantly on the lookout for failings, shortcomings, inconsistencies, misrepresentations, missteps, hostilities, wrong doing and ulterior motives.
Even when there are no failings, shortcomings, ulterior motives, etc., newsrooms are abuzz with speculation about what MIGHT be suspect in any given situation.
Reporters and editors (or news directors) are bright people but tend toward being sarcastic, cynical, critical and suspicious.
Because that’s the news culture.
And I’ve found it too close-minded, hurtful and objectionable at times and have taken long leaves of absence.
And while away, I’ve found myself missing the excitement and sense of righteousness and public service one feels when chasing down and breaking an important story or exposing wrong-doing — and especially when in competition with other news outlets to see who can get the best most revelatory story first.
I tried to make the jump from news to lifestyle and arts reporting early in my career. Wish I had.
A newspaper consultant I greatly admired, Eli Eisenberg of Los Angeles, advised me against it. And I took his advice. And have regretted it for a couple decades even though I did quite well during my years in the news business, winning many industry accolades and even editing/overseeing a Pulitzer-cited investigation.
But I got muddied and bogged down in the hurtful stuff too many times. And felt conflicted about what I was doing.
You have much more opportunity on the lifestyle and arts side of a newsroom to celebrate human accomplishment and creativity and intriguing personalities. But even there, you find the cynicism that pervades news.
The tongue in cheek sarcastic and lambastic pieces get the best play.
Those reporters who consistently demonstrate a finely honed sarcastic humor in their pieces are the newsroom stars.
Back to Yogananda’s statement.
How often do we put down other people’s creative efforts? Do we ridicule, resent, challenge the validity, intellectualize and tell them why we think it won’t work? Do we suggest they stick with their day job?
And why?
Wouldn’t the world be a more fascinating place if instead of discouraging people’s creative fire and ideas, we allowed them a chance to grow.
We don’t have to endorse. We can simply say:
“It will be interesting to see what you do with that.”
Because that’s true. Always.
Isn’t it?
