Novel Spaces is in its 10th year! Over the coming months we'll be featuring some of the most popular posts from our archives. This one was first published August 27, 2017.
By Amy Reade
image courtesy of pixabay, pexels
Let’s
get one thing out of the way right from the get-go: I do not write political
posts. I do not post anything political on any social media platform. And in a
way, what I’m about to write really isn’t political; rather, it’s a statement of
my beliefs about humans, having nothing to do with either or any political
party.
The
recent events that unfolded in Charlottesville, Virginia, following a
despicable display of hatred, bigotry, and ignorance were, simply put,
abominable. I grieve for the family of the woman who lost her life and for the
people, like me, who felt a deep sadness and icy dread when they saw the images
of the people carrying torches through the darkened campus of the University of
Virginia and the streets of Charlottesville.
The
entire incident ignited in me a desire—no, a need—to spend some time in the
shoes of people who may not look like me, who may not think like me, who may
experience life in ways that are different from the ways in which I experience
life. And I’m not talking here about racial differences alone. I’m talking about
any differences, whether they be
racial, religious, social, economic, educational, or generational.
image courtesy of pixabay, maxlkt
I don’t pretend that I’m
suddenly going to understand what it’s like to be anything other than a white
woman of early middle-age with a college education living in New Jersey, but I
mean to try. And I’m a writer, so what better way to spend time in other people’s
shoes than in books?
With that in mind, I’ve
done some research into books that deal head-on with issues of separation: things
and ideas that separate individuals, that separate people who practice
different religions, that separate individuals from society. And I want to
share a short list of books that I think might be a good place to start in
bridging the gaps that exist in our communities. Some of the books I’ve already
read, but I intend to read them again with a renewed intensity and a renewed
urgency.
We have to stop the hatred.
6. I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim by Maria M. Ebrahimji and Zahra T Suratwala, et
al.
This list is by no means
exhaustive, but it’s a good start. If nothing else, it’s at least one good thing that
came out of Charlottesville. It’s not what happened in the “wake” of
Charlottesville, but what happened in the “wake-up” of Charlottesville. A
wake-up call to understand “the other,” whomever that may be to each of us. I hope you’ll
join me, and I hope you’ll add your reading suggestions to the comments below.
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