Entry 76: Participation

I think the job of a journalist is to write down events currently happening in the world, but few people know it, in an objective, informative manner that the public can read and learn from easily. To actually be a participant, it is certainly challenging to avoid putting too much of oneself into the emotional part of the event. At the same time, however, it might be the best way to fully understand the significance of the subject and obtain as much information as possible. I believe not everyone is competent for such a job. It takes courage as well as intellect to plunge oneself into some of the most radical and dangerous conditions while remaining objective. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how one can be really objective when faced with situations like that. Sometimes journalists would even go to places that are currently at war. Such life-threatening experiences are not easy to keep a distance from once you participated. There's a blurry line between being an observer and being a participant of an event. An observer is simply one who watches, but how far can he or she stand outside the event? A participant is one who takes part in the event, but how much does it take to be counted as participating?