There, I’ve said it. If something really bugs me, I’m inclined to speak out from the passion of my heart. I can’t help myself. Well, okay I could help myself, but I choose not to. Some issues simply need to see the light of day, and discussing one’s pet peeves with a few close friends, huddled in a dark corner, is no way to generate movement, or change.
Of course, speaking one’s mind is almost always a risky business. That’s why I save my bullhorn for those topics that rile me the most. If I’m going to put myself in the position to be criticized—and anyone who speaks out on pretty much anything can bank on criticism from some quarter—then I prefer to choose a topic that deeply concerns me. Take the ghetto-ization of children’s literature, or the preposterously short-sighted dwindling state and national support for school and public libraries and librarians, which is putting our democracy at risk (don’t get me started!). These are some of the subjects that get my blood boiling.
Can you affect changes in any of these areas? Well, we’ll never know if we don’t speak up. So, here I’ll be, sounding off as the mood strikes.
It’s a start.