ageism – Natalie J. Case

Let’s talk about censorship, theft and becoming better people.

A lot of talk this week has centered around the literary world. Some people are claiming that the estate of Dr. Seuss, you know the people who control the books and legacy of the writer, has no right to stop publishing six of his works that no longer serve the society in which we currently live. Some have even used the word “censorship” in regards to this.

We can start there. Censorship is defined as the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. The person who wrote the piece, or in this case, those who have charge of curating the piece after the author’s death is not suppressing or prohibiting anything. They are not gathering up all the copies of those books and burning them. They are not telling anyone that they can no longer read the books. They simply will no longer publish new copies of them.

Another thing I’ve seen talked about this week is this idea that authors should not be bothered by having their work stolen and made available for free on various piracy sites. I’ve seen this same argument for music and movies/tv. I’m the first to admit that there have been times I have acquired content with less than honorable means, but usually only as a stopgap measure until I had the money/ability to acquire it legally.

But many are not as diligent about the subsequent legal acquisition, particularly where it comes to books. There seems to be this idea that somehow an ebook should be free, as though it isn’t the same amount of work as a paperback or hardback. The content is the same, it took the same amount of time and effort to create, so why should it be available for free?

As a society, we seem to need to be dragged forward into our next iteration, into a better society, and for every two steps forward, we seem to retreat a step. For every acknowledgement of racism, ageism, sexism, etc., there is a knee-jerk reaction from those who refuse to acknowledge the harm that these -isms cause.

This makes our progress slow, but it is still progress. Keep pulling, Readers. Keep pulling.

Tomorrow is the big day. Election day. We’ve seen record breaking turn outs to early voting and absentee/mail in voting, but that is no reason to get complacent. It is our duty, as American citizens, and in a time like ours not one of us can take that duty lightly.

This election cycle is more make or break than any I can remember. In the last four years our country has become more divided, more broken than I have ever seen. We are divided racially, ethnically, politically, religously and by hatred. In many cases it is a hatred that has been foisted upon us, or drug out of our inner psyche to be put on display.

Somehow, we’ve given permission to our baser selves to be brazenly angry about differences, about changes and about something as simple a concept as equality. We seem to find it easier to demonize those we see as enemies, call them names and deny them basic human dignity.

But we shouldn’t make ourselves feel better about ourselves at the expense of others. We don’t need to deny other people rights to keep those rights for ourselves. As someone once said, it isn’t pie.

I’ve seen more racism, ageism, ableism, sexism and hate of the LGBTQ+ community in the last four years than I can actually believe existed four years ago. Hate is contagious, and it is spreading faster than the coronavirus.

But tomorrow we have the ability to stand up and make it known that hate has no home here. It might be our last chance.

I won’t elaborate on all the various ways the person who is supposed to be leading us has instead worked to destroy us, there are plenty of other people doing that. Instead, my focus is on healing us, as a country. Our first step is to vote out those who foster and stoke the fires of hate, who pit us against each other so we won’t notice that they are robbing us blind.

Vote as if your life depended on it, because it might. Vote as if your BIPOC neighbors lives depend on it, because they do. Vote as if your gay brother’s marriage is on the line, because it is. Vote, not with the hate they want you to feel, but with the love you have for your family and your country.

If you haven’t already cast your vote, I hope you have a plan to get to the polls tomorrow. I hope you make it a priority in your day.

Above all, I wish you kindness and joy, Readers. Kindness and joy.

Cover Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

Tag: ageism

of progress and regress

#vote