We Can Do Better
It is hard these days to feel like the work I’m doing matters. Instead of sitting behind a desk, shouldn’t I be out there, putting my body on the line as young students get locked up for simply speaking up, as children get torn from parents who are disappeared to prisons overseas, as even sitting judges get arrested on trumped-up charges? I grapple with this question all the time as the Trump administration wages an increasingly cruel war against the people of this nation. But then I get to editing stories like our Summer print issue cover feature by Hannah Palmer, about how her search for swimmable waters in the US South led to her discovery of the region’s environmental history, its water policy, and the racial politics of public spaces. And Eric Freedman’s profile of researchers who dedicate their lives to seeking out and helping save previously unknown species. And Viola Kerekes’ account of her work with a herd of the last wild horse species left on Earth, which includes this incredible factoid — she knows the nearly 300 horses in the herd by name. Stories like these remind me that there are people out there still working away in their own spaces to better this world. They remind me of what legendary writer-activist James Baldwin said in reference to the power of individuals to create positive change and inspire others: “The world is held together, really it is held together, by the love and the passion of very few people.” And they remind me, also, of the value of bringing these narratives to you. Storytelling, after all, is such an integral part of being human. Stories allow us to share information in ways that help us make sense of the world around us and of our place in it. None of the features in our new issue (which we will start rolling out online next week) deal directly with the massive negative impact the new political regime is having on just about every aspect of our lives, climate and environment included. But in some ways, that omission in itself is an act of resistance. Why give oxygen to narratives of fear that are already circulating out there, that breed division and isolation at a time when we should be building community and fostering hope for the future? While the Journal doesn’t hesitate to ring the alarm bell when needed, perhaps our role during these dark days is to ensure we tell more stories that show us that good persists, love persists — and that simply doing what you love can also be a form of resistance. * After two-and-a-half years as the Journal’s associate editor, Brian Calvert has moved on to a staff reporter and contributing editor position at Civil Eats, a publication we admire and have had several collaborations with. He is missed, but we wish him the very best at his new venture.
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