Freedom to Listen

Having the freedom to listen allows me to really think about what our options are or could be especially in the time of crisis.

This is a part of three part series Three Freedoms.

A dangerous book will always be in danger from those it threatens with the demand that they question their assumptions. They’d rather hang on to the assumptions and ban the book.”

― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader and the Imagination

Having the freedom to listen to stories that are not (yet) accepted socially, that aren’t in line with my country’s political system or culture, that aren’t in line with my own moral obligations, allows me to really think about what our options are or could be especially in the time of crisis. It gives me more perspectives. Gives more power to my choices. I can respectfully disagree and then show the world why through my writing.

I’d like to start by sharing a piece of my life. I’ve been blessed to live on both sides of the coin. I have both been deprived of literature and shown what it’s like to have the freedom to read what feels like an unlimited amount of books. The freedom was and…