Michael Bugeja does not necessarily place himself in any ideological category. However, his work has a certain intelligent flair about it. A conservative reading his latest work, "Family Values", will find himself reading his book cover to cover, pointing at passages and mumbling, "That's right...so true." Mr. Bugeja is a journalist and a novelist. In our interview he discusses his new book and the novel as an art form.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: In you book, "Family Values", the central character is confronted with political problems resulting from his wife's affair with a welfare cheat. In light of the now infamous Monica Lewinsky affair how important a factor is sex in politics?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: Of course at this time we don't know if the President had an illicit affair with a White House intern. The media are way out ahead of the facts on this one. The sensationalism associated with that is directly related to the tabloid aspects of my book. That's why Mylo's motto is "No news is good news." When there is no news, you create something sensational. That's happening now. I have no idea who is telling the truth today, January 28, 1998, with regard to the President and Monica Lewinsky. That said, I am concerned that someone is lying, and lying badly. I have been reminding my ethics students that this country fought a Revolution so that truth became greater than authority. In other words, I hold my leaders to a higher standard than an ordinary citizen.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: You were pretty hard on the media in your book. You teach ethics and magazine writing at the prestigious E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and serve as an ethics advisor to the President of Ohio University. What is your opinion of prevalent ethical standards in journalism today? Do you think there is a media bias as many in conservative circles believe?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: As you can see, in my first response, I do come down hard on the media. That's because the media are the Fourth Estate in this Republic. That brings into question the true meaning of The First Amendment. The Constitutional framers wanted a free press not to sanction the right to be offense, as many today falsely believe. They wanted free speech because they believed that truth would eventually rise to the top. I'm not so sure media, especially media on the internet, realize that. I think the world wide web can be a wonderful learning tool, returning the disenfranchised of this country to the community of ideas. But I fear it has accelerated the deadline pressure that mainstream media feel, prompting them to run with stories, rather than exercise restraint. I think we've seen that with the Matt Drudge report, precipitating this White House media frenzy. As for a bias in media against conservatives, I have always been careful to state that conservatives, for the most part, dictate the standards of community journalism--those small dailies, such as the one in my hometown, Athens, Ohio, that espouse a less liberal viewpoint than newspapers on both coasts. If you're a conservative, you have to look at it this way. Media consumers do not believe what is told to them, especially in so-called slanted news or liberal opinion pages; if anything, because we have become so used to lying in public life-especially in advertising--we tend, as a society, not to believe anything communicated in language. The recent spate of stories involving the White House scandal has reaffirmed that assertion, and that's sad. That's why I wrote FAMILY VALUES. I wanted to concoct a story to make readers laugh with each other instead of at each other. I hope I have done that.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: Many would disagree with your statement that leaders should be held to a higher standard, at least moral or ethical. Has this always been the case or have American's expectations become lowered in recent history?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: Leaders have tremendous power, and leadership is a privilege. If you make a choice to guide others, you surely should be able to guide yourself--morally or ethically. Expectations are higher, not lower, with respect to this tenet, from the ethical standpoint. There's a good reason: the charter freedoms of this country are being shared increasingly with more and more citizens. Accountability is the result, in many ways, to ensure fairness. In FDR's time, for instance, blacks and whites were segregated into different combat units. Racism was still rampant in part of this country during World War II. Although racism still exists, you really cannot compare the two eras. Likewise you can't compare moral standards of two eras. I hope 25 years from now that the morals of leaders who have fingers on nuclear arsenals will not be compared with the morals of a paramour in a local bar.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: Your book, "Family Values" in many ways is the story of an inevitable clash of societal forces brought down to a personal level. You present some very interesting characters that seem to represent different aspects of our society, Mylo Thrump the declining member of the "fourth estate" for example, and Elizabeth Effington of the religious right. These characters are well fleshed out and not the caricatures that we might expect from a lesser novelist. How did you go about crafting characters representing a group and yet make them seem like real people?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: Thanks for that comment. Every person has a light that shines within. Everyone has a pain or sorrow that blocks a part of that light and causes him or her to behave in suspect, strange, or sometimes evil ways. I think it particularly tragic, for instance, that Elizabeth Effington had a genuine calling to become a minister but was not allowed, by her father. Her love of God warped beneath her father's shadow.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: Typically, fiction has been the domain of liberal authors with an agenda. Do you see this as changing?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: I don't hold any fast rules about liberal or conservative authors because everyone, actually, has an agenda. And I reserve judgment until I am in possession of the facts, and I'm not in this case. But I would save that the audience is starved for truth, meaning and compassion/humor, and whoever can tap into that, deserves to be (and probably will be) published.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: Getting back to characterizations, in "Family Values" the most interesting character may be Eddy Ray. Is this because he is such a rascal? Do you think there is a segment of the population naturally attracted to such people?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: Eddie Ray is a character who uses others and thinks that rewards come only if you scam. Cheat. Abuse others. In other words, he feels everyone else has theirs--why doesn't he have his? He doesn't get it that hard work might have something to do with it. And he suffers the criminal feeling of self-pity, even as he victimizes.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: But the most desirable female figure in the book was attracted to this seedy character. Do you think that there is indeed an attraction by many to the devil-may-care scammer who takes advantage of society and every individual he meets?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: No, I don't think that. Allie Effington falls for Eddie Ray because, on the surface, he is everything her husband isn't. She wants to be taken seriously, and he takes her for everything she is worth. On some level, though, she knows that she is punishing her husband by having this affair. Eddie Ray's a criminal, and "Lock'em'up" Luke puts criminals away. What better way to get his attention...and his goat?
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: You say all novelists have an agenda. Would you feel comfortable in telling us what your agenda is?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: My agenda is to make people laugh with each other rather than at each other. But the darker side of my motive is hurl a poison dart at tabloid media. When I started the book I thought I was writing satire. These days, it looks like a documentary.
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: Do you think the "novel" as a medium has an important beyond mere entertainment?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: The scary aspect of writing a satire is that most people read novels, and the difference between satire and novel is subtle but important. In a satire you use fictional situations and characters but you deal with very real issues to make points about contemporary society or politics. But you use an unreliable voice. That means the author is speaking tongue-in-cheek. Most readers of novels these days, let alone critics and reviewers, take novelists at face value and loathe happy endings. You just can't take me at face value in FAMILY VALUES (pun intended), and the happy ending may not be happy at all if you understand satire!
CONSERVATIVE MONITOR: Thank you for the interview. Are there any final comments you would like to make to our readers?
MICHAEL BUGEJA: Laugh whenever you want to and always at yourself. For instance, Mylo--the villain in my book--is a composite of my worst self at my worst moments. So when you read FAMILY VALUES, remember the author is making fun of himself and his chosen profession.
Michael Bugeja's book, "Family Values", can be found at:
