Write, Just Write
Foremother of the United States of America, Hannah Adams
I implore every blogger and online writer, every woman who knows how to write an email, a letter, or a message, to step up their writing pace to repair and what is left of democracy in our country, world, and in our minds. I am talking not just about posting on Facebook or snippet-based social media, I am talking about writing the letters, pamphlets, and broadsheets for the re-democratization of America. I am asking for you to stand and write. We would have had no American Democracy without the widespread distribution of politically important personally passionate information.
Revolutionary Writing
According to David Ramsay, one of the first historians of the American Revolution,
in establishing American independence, the pen and press had merit equal to that of the sword.
The revolution of the 18th Century built a structure that could support democratic principles, but the interstitial elements allowed, and in fact encouraged undemocratic processes to continue and flourish, outside of constitutional structure. Change must be interstitial as well as structural. We cannot know all the elements of democracy. It is theoretical, a concept, but it is a glorious one. We know what some of the un- and anti-democraticprocesses that were allowed to live, grow, and entwine around democratic structures were: slavery, inequality, disenfranchisement, government collustion with corporations, and erosiom of journalistic integrity.
Through writing we can change the nature of the interstitial spaces.
Reformative Writing
Martin Luther posted his theses that spurred the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago. How was this radical idea spread? Of course, broadsheets and pamphlets. While much Luther believed is today viewed with horror (his anti-semitism is the most offensive example), his influence cannot be denied.
Nuremburg edition of Luther’s 95 Theses
We have a responsibility as writers to respond to a call we can all hear if we listen. Far more important than going viral or creating memes, we have a responsibility to our world and those who will live in the world once we are gone. We must share real information to our circles through our own words, in words that will mean something to those we know, those with whom we interact regularly, those that respect us.
Write a letter, put your thoughts into an email and send it as you would a letter. Make it about something that is important to you and politicize it through personalization and sincerity.
Write about baby food or stolen cuneform tablets. Write about how you have to make your own baby food because corporations are allowed to keep what hey are doing to the food in the jars on the baby food shelves. If a craft store has promoted the looting of ancient archaeological sites through its purchase of thousands of stolen cuneform tablets, write about it on your blog. You do not have to bring up other dispicable actions the company has supported if you do not want to.
If it is important to you, you are the best advocate.
Communicate personally and routinely.
It is what women do. We coordinate communication for families and communities. Our power is boundless. As we have women rewrite democracy into our lives this go round let us have women credited with a revolutionary reformation in ethical and responsible structures and all the things that exist between those structures.
Hi Nancy. Yep, it’s working fine. Have a good week. 🙂 Bev
Thanks for checking out the feature for me!