Public Spaces Under Siege

 

It is hard to marshall my thoughts in this dark and scary time.

I took so much for granted about the greatness and stability of American Democracy.*

I thought the great civil rights battles of sixty to fifty years ago were a sign that the moral arc of the universe was finally bending the right way.

I was wrong.

The battle is never over. The forces that would pull us back are constantly with us. If we don't fight back, they will overwhelm us and drag us back to a time when DEI doesn't stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion but instead discrimination, exclusion, and intolerance.

What a beautiful, inclusive, and loving statement the above mural is. And how sick and twisted are the challenges to it.

The concept of open public libraries is essential to the preservation of democracy. As our founding fathers advocated, a functioning democracy is dependent on an educated and informed populace. We must develop critical thinkers, not automatons ready to follow whatever authoritarian bully comes around.

Democracy is stronger when knowledge is available. A community is stronger whenever everyone is served, regardless of income or station.  

Marginalized communities and individuals need to know they have a welcoming, safe space to go to. There are so many places where they are made to feel uncomfortable and unwanted. Public spaces, including the library and our schools, should not be one of them.

If your ideas are strong enough, they should be able to survive and thrive in an open marketplace of ideas. As a devout Christian, I do not fear this marketplace. I thrive in it. Because I know how strong and loving my faith is.

But if you really can't stand openness, then stop attacking public spaces and create your own private spaces that only allow your own indoctrination to shine through. Start your own private schools. Put a private library in your church or your beer-putsch-style political halls. Just don't come running to the state for your funding. Because they are obligated to serve EVERYONE, not just YOU.

This is not my last message on this subject. I will come back to it again and again. I would love for my blog to be about the eclipse, funny family experiences, pets, theatre, my Granddaughter, or even railing about Trump.

But that's not the time we live in. We must come to the defense of public spaces.

I'm open to suggestions. Anything. Let me know. Yes, I'm an introvert who has a hard time putting myself out. But this is too important.

Let's figure out what to do. If you love the library, now is the time to defend it.

*constitutional republic, representative democracy...whatever, it's all the same thing.  If you're snarling about my using the word democracy, you're part of the problem, not the solution.