Shared this with someone I coach, who could very well be described as the hesitant archetype you lay out, and they sent an urgent THANK YOU and "This is a gift and a needed reminder." You doing the work helps others do the work :)
You are spot on with your newsletter this week. One of the most pressing problems in this country is that we don't listen to one another and that people have gotten too afraid to speak up out of fear of "being cancelled." Empathy, patience and understanding are at an all time low. Thank you for encouraging us to be better human beings. We cannot have community if we don't listen and support one another.
Fondly,
Deane Bowers
Charleston, South Carolina
PS- Hospitals are not listening to their employees, especially to their Nurses. My heart breaks for all our nations overworked, underpaid and under appreciated healthcare professionals. They got us through the pandemic but are now suffering greatly for their selflessness. As a result, i have created a campaign in honor of Nurses to ensure they receive the care and support they need and deserve. Healthcare organizations are not providing this care and are instead using this money to give their CEO's raises. I am an artist, not a fundraiser, but I have taken a stand. It is so scary for me, but also very fulfilling knowing that ii am making a difference in the lives of Nurses.
Thank you for this gentle and yet effective nudge. I am of the group who feels more comfortable in smaller, quieter circles - often supporting those whose voices are louder and more polished. I find it interesting to that perhaps this is part of finding one’s own voice and platform.
I few years ago I listened to Megyn Kelly’s audio version of her book because I wanted to understand her - a woman so very different from me and most women I know. It was fascinating really though at times cringeworthy. But she actually speaks to this exact topic within her experience of journalism - she is very clear about how media at even the highest level manipulates and decides whose voice, whose story, whose version gets to be heard. Where she disappointed me is that she doesn’t then use her platform and privilege to disrupt and change this.
Without any sort of curation, if everyone speaks at the same time, lots of valuable thoughts will never be heard and lots of people with loud voices will likely dominate the space.
I love when those with an audience give part of their space to others to speak, as when Roxane Gay gives her newsletter platform once a week to a guest writer who does not yet have such access, but couldn't someone think of that too as gatekeeping? Like in your recent newsletter when you called it a quiet cruelty when a person on a panel advising aspiring writers said to be sure to be introduced?
I agree with you that no one should simply assume she hasn't the right or position to be heard. But I am having trouble visualizing an institutional structure that brings attention to ideas by how much those ideas add to the public discourse.
Expressing ideas to the public has probably never been easier because of the internet, and drawing attention to any particular real idea never harder because of how much material inundates the space. (When I say 'real idea' I am excluding something like salacious gossip and speculation about celebrities).
This post really resonated with me for a couple of reasons as I have been wrestling with the idea of doing my own Ted talk. When I worked in film I was behind the lenses and now working with children with additional learning needs in a school my contribution has been to encourage a couple of the children in our school to go forth with their Ted talks. Like you, I believe everyone should have a voice. And that the more voices and conversations out there; the better it is for all of us. Especially now that we are close to drive ourselves into extinction. I have done a few discoveries of my own through my practice and study of enlightened beings teachings. So I am considering a Ted talk . I am not sure that we have TedBlog . One is a re-interpretation of a passage (hymn) of the Rig Veda which I understand as a warning and the other would be to explain why enlightened beings teachings are important to humanity and therefore should not be tampered with. It is an annoying feature of our cultures to trivialize and present washed out versions of things to suit our busy lives. And we are in my humble understanding, destroying important things for the sake of marketing and easiness of accessibility. One such example (not sure if it is the same in the US), but here, all of a sudden Hot Yoga places started to spring up everywhere, but it was not to elevate people’s spirituality but, turned out to be “better” pick up places. Probably because if you are into yoga, you are unlikely to be a psychopath or a rapist. I find this kind of attitude deplorable and inadequate for it disrespects the work of those who came before us, and want to put my peace of mind out there. If you read Graham Hancock’s Supernatural or Heaven’s Mirror, or Underworld, you can see what other kinds of atrocities and many lives have been destroyed, how much information we are missing out in just for the convenience and reputation of a few. He is a great researcher and I have been shocked at the things he has uncovered about how we go about knowledge in the last couple of centuries . Irresponsible and questionable behavior if you ask me. Yes, I am not a super academic, but I see things and I feel it is important to share them and that what the world does with it, it is not my concern. Each individual has to make their own choices and live with them. I leave that part to each one of us.
Aug 24, 2022·edited Aug 24, 2022Liked by Courtney Martin
Amen! This democratization of voices that you're speaking of is why I love the Substack platform, for writers specifically, and all the other platforms, like Patreon, that allow creators of various kinds to cut out the middleman, the gatekeepers, and simply bring their work out to anyone who is willing to support it. The potential to by-pass traditional power hierarchies that dictate who gets to have a voice and how and why are upended. If you have access to the internet (which is, admittedly, a privilege, but not impossible for most) you can put your box on the internet street corner and offer your testimony, so to speak, no matter who you are. This opens the door to such a previously unheard diversity of voices and perspectives. It also could, I hope, change people's minds about who gets to be a "professional artist". Anyone with the chutzpah to plant their box on the corner and keep going, that's who.
This is also why I try to promote other great Substacks as often as I can, so more diverse word-makers get in front of the eyes of more people.
Yes yes yes to all of this! This is an all hands on deck time for humanity and I loved learning more about a topic I personally have wrestled with for some time. Thank you!
I see this as one of the greatest challenges of our time. Listening to unheard voices and respectful discourse between people who think differently.
Shared this with someone I coach, who could very well be described as the hesitant archetype you lay out, and they sent an urgent THANK YOU and "This is a gift and a needed reminder." You doing the work helps others do the work :)
Hi Courtney,
You are spot on with your newsletter this week. One of the most pressing problems in this country is that we don't listen to one another and that people have gotten too afraid to speak up out of fear of "being cancelled." Empathy, patience and understanding are at an all time low. Thank you for encouraging us to be better human beings. We cannot have community if we don't listen and support one another.
Fondly,
Deane Bowers
Charleston, South Carolina
PS- Hospitals are not listening to their employees, especially to their Nurses. My heart breaks for all our nations overworked, underpaid and under appreciated healthcare professionals. They got us through the pandemic but are now suffering greatly for their selflessness. As a result, i have created a campaign in honor of Nurses to ensure they receive the care and support they need and deserve. Healthcare organizations are not providing this care and are instead using this money to give their CEO's raises. I am an artist, not a fundraiser, but I have taken a stand. It is so scary for me, but also very fulfilling knowing that ii am making a difference in the lives of Nurses.
Heroes and Trash Bags
https://deanevbowersart.com/blogs/news/heroes-and-trash-bags
Thank you for this gentle and yet effective nudge. I am of the group who feels more comfortable in smaller, quieter circles - often supporting those whose voices are louder and more polished. I find it interesting to that perhaps this is part of finding one’s own voice and platform.
I few years ago I listened to Megyn Kelly’s audio version of her book because I wanted to understand her - a woman so very different from me and most women I know. It was fascinating really though at times cringeworthy. But she actually speaks to this exact topic within her experience of journalism - she is very clear about how media at even the highest level manipulates and decides whose voice, whose story, whose version gets to be heard. Where she disappointed me is that she doesn’t then use her platform and privilege to disrupt and change this.
This is definitely a tricky area.
Without any sort of curation, if everyone speaks at the same time, lots of valuable thoughts will never be heard and lots of people with loud voices will likely dominate the space.
I love when those with an audience give part of their space to others to speak, as when Roxane Gay gives her newsletter platform once a week to a guest writer who does not yet have such access, but couldn't someone think of that too as gatekeeping? Like in your recent newsletter when you called it a quiet cruelty when a person on a panel advising aspiring writers said to be sure to be introduced?
I agree with you that no one should simply assume she hasn't the right or position to be heard. But I am having trouble visualizing an institutional structure that brings attention to ideas by how much those ideas add to the public discourse.
Expressing ideas to the public has probably never been easier because of the internet, and drawing attention to any particular real idea never harder because of how much material inundates the space. (When I say 'real idea' I am excluding something like salacious gossip and speculation about celebrities).
What do you think it would look like?
This post really resonated with me for a couple of reasons as I have been wrestling with the idea of doing my own Ted talk. When I worked in film I was behind the lenses and now working with children with additional learning needs in a school my contribution has been to encourage a couple of the children in our school to go forth with their Ted talks. Like you, I believe everyone should have a voice. And that the more voices and conversations out there; the better it is for all of us. Especially now that we are close to drive ourselves into extinction. I have done a few discoveries of my own through my practice and study of enlightened beings teachings. So I am considering a Ted talk . I am not sure that we have TedBlog . One is a re-interpretation of a passage (hymn) of the Rig Veda which I understand as a warning and the other would be to explain why enlightened beings teachings are important to humanity and therefore should not be tampered with. It is an annoying feature of our cultures to trivialize and present washed out versions of things to suit our busy lives. And we are in my humble understanding, destroying important things for the sake of marketing and easiness of accessibility. One such example (not sure if it is the same in the US), but here, all of a sudden Hot Yoga places started to spring up everywhere, but it was not to elevate people’s spirituality but, turned out to be “better” pick up places. Probably because if you are into yoga, you are unlikely to be a psychopath or a rapist. I find this kind of attitude deplorable and inadequate for it disrespects the work of those who came before us, and want to put my peace of mind out there. If you read Graham Hancock’s Supernatural or Heaven’s Mirror, or Underworld, you can see what other kinds of atrocities and many lives have been destroyed, how much information we are missing out in just for the convenience and reputation of a few. He is a great researcher and I have been shocked at the things he has uncovered about how we go about knowledge in the last couple of centuries . Irresponsible and questionable behavior if you ask me. Yes, I am not a super academic, but I see things and I feel it is important to share them and that what the world does with it, it is not my concern. Each individual has to make their own choices and live with them. I leave that part to each one of us.
Amen! This democratization of voices that you're speaking of is why I love the Substack platform, for writers specifically, and all the other platforms, like Patreon, that allow creators of various kinds to cut out the middleman, the gatekeepers, and simply bring their work out to anyone who is willing to support it. The potential to by-pass traditional power hierarchies that dictate who gets to have a voice and how and why are upended. If you have access to the internet (which is, admittedly, a privilege, but not impossible for most) you can put your box on the internet street corner and offer your testimony, so to speak, no matter who you are. This opens the door to such a previously unheard diversity of voices and perspectives. It also could, I hope, change people's minds about who gets to be a "professional artist". Anyone with the chutzpah to plant their box on the corner and keep going, that's who.
This is also why I try to promote other great Substacks as often as I can, so more diverse word-makers get in front of the eyes of more people.
Yes yes yes to all of this! This is an all hands on deck time for humanity and I loved learning more about a topic I personally have wrestled with for some time. Thank you!