Holly
Lisle's Vision
From
The Editor:
Why We Must Write
©2001,
Lazette Gifford
Both
Holly Lisle's Vision and the Forward Motion Writer's Community represent
facets of our freedom that the people who attacked the World Trade Center are
against. First, this site is run by
Holly Lisle, who is an educated woman: women are not allowed education under the
fanatics. Second -- and this
affects all of us who frequent Vision and Forward Motion -- the combined
sites are dedicated to freedom of imagination.
We write many genres, including science fiction, fantasy and horror, and
these are types of material banned under those who attacked us.
What
had been simply something we did for ourselves should now become something we
can do to shout in the face of those who are opposed to these gifts of
imagination and entertainment.
Most
of us have not lost anything tangible in this first strike, even if our souls
are wounded. We have all stepped
back, looked at our world, and tried to make some sense of what is happening,
and what is important. Many at the
Forward Motion Community have found it difficult to go back to writing.
However, we run the risk of trivializing our freedoms if we do not
continue with the work at we have loved. No,
it is not as important as working on the front lines as an EMS (as our own
Forward Motion Moderator Shane P. Carr did).
Most of us will probably not go into battle, though we have one person
(Blackus1) already called up in the reserves.
But
we can imagine, create and write things that these people would deny us if they
could. Don't give up what others,
in fact, have already died for, and abandon your right to this important
freedom. Don't give the enemy even
that little win.
(For
a list of just some of the restrictions on life under the Taliban -- who have
sided with bin Laden, and share many of his beliefs -- look at this page: http://www.rawa.org/rules.htm.
There is also a report on CNN.com about a woman who went into Afghanistan
to see how life was: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/presents/index.veil.html
)
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