Through The Dark Age And Into The Storm

[blue_green_dream]

aseanchai is often fond of telling me that when it comes to activism, "the work never ends." I suppose that's true - I know it is, in fact - but it can be thoroughly exhausting. That's been borne out this week with the news about Roe v. Wade.

I've spent countless hours since 2017 writing letters and postcards urging people to get out and vote. I'm proud of that work, and I have no doubt that it's encouraged people to participate in elections. But sometimes I find myself despairing and worrying that no matter what I do, it will never be enough to truly make a difference. It's not just GOTV efforts, either. For example, aseanchai  and I are trying to raise money for charity by doing a Lord of the Rings walking challenge. (You can learn more about that over at longwalks , though I'll mention the project from time to time here.) I had high hopes for what we're trying to accomplish. Ideally, we'd raise $1,000 for nine charities each. In other words, we'd raise $9,000 for charities that are helping both people and planet.

But I worry now that this attempt isn't what's needed now. Will people donate to a food bank when so much is on the line? Will people want to read about us walking in nature when so much work needs to be done? In some ways, both our walk and our journaling about it seems self-indulgent right now. Shouldn't we be angry, shouting, fighting? There is part of me that feels like we should be, but I am so, so tired. I had hoped to take some time away while still doing good, but I don't know if that is an option now, if it ever truly was.

Times like these make me question many things I hold dear - things like art, like stories, like enchantment (and re-enchantment) and all of the soft and subtle things that seem to be a part of my natural nature. The world often seems like it wants to be hard and harsh and breed hard people. It feels like those people only want art that protests or rages, and that it only wants stories that can be used as rallying cries. Enchantment is seen as foolishness, childishness. People don't have time for such things when the work never ends. I'm not sure where that leaves me, and I'm not sure if that makes me soft, a coward or both.

I'll need to figure all of this out, and quickly. But for now, I have to keep walking.

Comments

[aseanchai]

"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape."

The world is full of beauty and pain and if one does not take time to marvel at the former then one will not have the strength to endure the latter. I have seen it written and heard it said that if you are fighting on one front, then you are fighting on them all. Because ultimately, all of these battles are connected. Poverty, hunger, trans rights, the right to adequate healthcare, environmental causes - to work on one is to work on them all, to recognize that we are all connected and that our efforts can only result in a greater good.

I know you are tired, and I know how hard it can be for you to rest. If you cannot rest, then you must find activities that fuel your heart and soul, like walking, like embracing the beauty of the world.

I quoted Terry Pratchett at the start of this reply because I know that you are a very big fan of his work. I think we should remember that, by all accounts, Terry was a very angry man. He was angry about the many injustices he saw in the world around him, and he channeled that anger into his work. But the work is not simply a series of rage-filled screeds. They are sublime novels, heartfelt and funny and exceedingly intelligence. I suppose the world can make you hard, or you can hold on to your enchantment and fuel your magic.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Times like these make me question many things I hold dear - things like art, like stories, like enchantment (and re-enchantment) and all of the soft and subtle things that seem to be a part of my natural nature. The world often seems like it wants to be hard and harsh and breed hard people. It feels like those people only want art that protests or rages, and that it only wants stories that can be used as rallying cries. <<

Here's a thought for you ...

I've been an activist since I could walk and talk. I've done the usual marches, rallies, protests, letter campaigns, etc. But the thing that has the highest throughput of people saying "I did the thing" is plain old storytelling. I describe how something works, readers like it, and they use it. The instructions are there if people want them.

By far my most popular series is Polychrome Heroics, which is superhero fantasy. It's a version of our world that is, in many ways, softer and sweeter and mostly nicer to live in. Yet most of the best parts aren't the superpowers; they're social differences that can be replicated with local resources. Readers are so intrigued with this way of life that I've written meta things like how to make your hometown more like Bluehill.

Don't underestimate the power of a nice place to live.

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
― J.R.R. Tolkien