There’s a Fear of Progress

Hey there, it’s been a while. A lot has happened. But I don’t even know where to start so I’m going to just hop back in and talk about what’s been going on with me in the past 24 hours.

Last night, I was able to attend an event hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library entitled “Open Eyes: Banned Books, Kids, and the War on Reading.” One of the panelists, Jeffrey Blair, I’ve worked with during my time at In Purpose Educational Services (IPES). He’s the owner of Eye See Me Bookstore. It’s a great little bookstore that you should check out. IPES and ESM created a Banned Book program and it was awesome to see that discussed in a larger context in front of a larger audience.

I wrote down a note from the evening that I truly can’t remember if Jeffrey said or another one of the panelists had said. But here’s a paraphrasing of it, “An attempt to erase books is an attempt to erase a [community of] people.” There was discussion about how the books that are being banned represent stories from the BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ communities. Books that expand our horizons, and represent the historically underrepresented communities.

What is happening in the U.S. right now is simply war on progress. Fear of progress. Fear breeds terror and terrorism. Anger. Violence. Pain. Trauma. Sadness. Separation.

But you know what progress actually is? It’s love. It’s connection. It’s knowledge. It’s growth. It’s joy. Happiness. Humanity.

Another person I’ve met recently mentions a lot “United we stand, divided we fall”. I’d like to add “Together we RISE.” We can rise if we do it together and not by separating. And not by marginalizing. We need to widen our circle and let more people. A pattern of exclusion will only find you excluded at some point.

We are all taught as kids to be nice, not to hit, don’t be a bully, be honest, speak kindly, etc. Where the hell did we go wrong when many adults can’t even practice the foundational lessons we learn as humans. I know we’ve always been this way; we’re animals at the end of day. But I thought our higher brain functions would make it easier to not only make connections to learn but also extrapolate and understand nuance.

There is no reason to fear progress. Progress is growth. A future that doesn’t look like Mad Max or Water World. I wish that for my my loved ones and their descendants.

Everyone has a right to be able to achieve their full potential. And together we could all achieve greatness. We deserve more.

Read the books. Demand the books. Buy the books. Donate the books. Download the books.

Keep the books.

Learn.

Discuss.

Teach.

Grow.