After the event at Faith United Methodist Church on January 31st, I am now nearly breaking even financially with the self-publication of my first work, 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves. One of the things that I have talked to my fiancee about is how hard it can be for a writer/artist, or anyone really, to continue doing what they love for the sake of doing what they love when financial considerations come into play. Are we good enough people to not care about money, to do what it is we love without any seeking after money? As a Christian, and as a Christian writer, I have to say that any seeking after money lessens our potential, even if the money seeking is secondary. To be the best that we can be, as a person and as a professional in a vocation, we should only do what it is we want to do and then let the money come to us. In real life this is a hard principle to follow, since we're often in need of money any way we can get it. But still, I have written a book: do I sell that book because I want people to read it and possibly gain something from it, or do I sell the book because I want to make some money? Does it matter?
Well, first of all, I think that breaking even is an event to be celebrated. Whether I am writing for my own financial well-being, my own satisfaction, or for the betterment of the world, breaking even means something: I've sold about 150 copies. Stop the trains! 150 copies! No way! That must have killed at least 10 million trees! Okay, so 150 copies is not 1,000 copies, nor is it 10,000 copies. I'm not setting any records. And let's say only half the people who have bought the book have actually read it. That means a mere 75 people have read the book. Though that number is much smaller than a writer with big dreams may like, it's still something to be celebrated.
In the case of 27 Million Revolutions, I know that many of those 75 people have found the book helpful in some way. A student in Florida asked me to record a little talk for her, one of my brother's friends was strongly moved by the book and started up a conversation with me about the book, and residents of my former hometown have said that they are starting to be more aware of slavery in the news and in their daily lives. Those are just a few examples. As a writer, what else could you ask for? As a Christian, what else could you ask for? People's lives are being changed for the better. Yes, the numbers are small, but if the impact is large, how can I or anyone else complain?
Self-publishing has had the unintended consequence of forcing me to think about finances a little too much. For any budding writers out there, self-publishing will have the same negative consequence on you as well, unless a financial boom is why you are writing. But I suppose I am choosing to ignore all the more serious questions and just remember that breaking even with 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves means that a good number of people have been positively impacted and influenced by reading the book.
Here's to hoping that celebrating this milestone will lead to more lives changed, bringing us closer to the end of slavery. If you want to help change lives and make the world a better place--aka, a world without slavery--recommend 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves. It's already worked wonders in a number of lives.
Showing posts with label American slavery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American slavery. Show all posts
Monday, February 17, 2014
Monday, August 20, 2012
Slavery: Trust and Distrust
Last night MSNBC aired two hour-long documentaries on slavery/human trafficking here in the United States. I watched the first one, "Slavery in the Suburbs," and wish that I didn't have a 10 p.m.ish bedtime so that I could have watched the second one, an in-depth look at modern-day slavery in Texas. Among other things, the documentary reminded me of another aspect of my mission as a writer: to make us aware of the world around us and how the way we live our lives impacts others in that world, and simultaneously restore trust and love to our hearts and minds.
If I haven't said so before, one of the greatest triumphs in my life is that I biked across the country to fight human trafficking last summer. That should be clear, since my major writing project right now is the book on the trip, 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves. You can check out my on-going blog with the same name. My main focus during the trip and now in writing the book was and is raising awareness. Too many millions of people here in the United States think that slavery is a thing of the past, something that we have conquered thoroughly, especially now after the Civil Rights Movement. Slavery happens elsewhere, we think, without stopping to realize that slavery of all forms most likely is happening right down the street from us at any given moment. Hundreds and thousands of young American girls, born and raised, are in danger of sex slavery every year--as it is, Polaris Project estimates that 100,000 Americans are forced into slavery each year (I direct you to the Polaris Project website, Polaris, for more information). That is a huge effin number for a country filled with citizens who simply can't believe such a thing possible. Indeed, the first presentation that I gave after my bike trip at a church brought forward a mother who argued with me, "There's no way there are 27 million slaves in the world. Don't you think we'd hear about it?"
Here is not the place where I will talk about slavery in our world today, I'm writing everyday in my book about it, but suffice it to say that human trafficking (an interchangeable phrase with slavery) is the fastest growing industry right now partly because of how secret it is. People who own or use slaves aren't going to come out into the open about it. But that doesn't mean that humans aren't the best drug, the best product, for one's personal pleasure imaginable: a pimp, or slave-owner of any kind, does not need to grow humans, does not need to buy humans, they just need to not get arrested. And the United States has been terminally slow in passing better and more strict laws to fight against human trafficking (the laws and response of the police make fighting human trafficking nearly impossible at times). Because of the nature of the crime, the laws in our country, and the attitudes that we wrongly hold about slavery which enable human trafficking, slavery will remain covert. Thus, awareness is the key.
Awareness is key. Believe me, some form of slavery is almost certainly occurring in your county, if not in your hometown, if not in your neighborhood. First things first, then, we need to acknowledge that fact. Essentially this means being extremely distrustful of all things and all people. I think that is a great shame, but there is no helping the inevitable. Once we know the realities of the world we live in--that our daughter could become a sex slave simply by going over to a friend's house or going out to watch a movie--we will feel the need to keep an eye out, preemptively for the sake of those we love and in order to perhaps catch human trafficking in process.
To me, though, awareness involves so much more than knowing facts and keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior. As I'll post tomorrow in my essay response to the shootings in Wisconsin and Colorado, we need to reflect on the attitudes we harbor in our society that could lead to someone's wanting to own or use a slave; we need to reflect on the attitudes that we harbor within ourselves that might lead or contribute to slavery. We cannot simply point blaming fingers every which way and refuse to acknowledge that in some way we might be part of the problem. Pornography, for instance, is not innocent at all, nor is watching pornography. The way we live our lives can also contribute to oppressive slavery without our knowing. All of this, I hope, can lead to more inward reflection. For me, awareness is essentially an act of confession. A small act of confession but an act of confession nonetheless. Becoming aware must help us grow as individuals and as a people if we ever hope to live in a better world.
Inward reflection might enable us to think less harshly and distrustfully of others, aware that the flaws and issues that other persons might exhibit can be found in our own character as well. If it doesn't, or even if it does, I cannot stand raising awareness of certain corrupt and loathsome undersides of the world around us and our own thinking and attitudes that undergird those undersides without also restoring the trust lost in the process of becoming aware. Too often I hear people use "naive" as a synonym for "trusting." I can't tell you how much that bothers me. I've told the story of the Jewish father protecting his daughter from me on a train and what that means to me, insert that story here.
Human trafficking/slavery is arguably the worst evil ever to exist, and it is unfortunately also one of the least known. So obviously I view it as my mission to make it known. But my mission of awareness extends beyond human trafficking into simply inviting deep reflection by all of us. And then, once we develop distrust of ourselves and everyone, I hope to show that the world isn't such a bad place after all. A hopeless mission, but part of my mission as a writer nonetheless.
If I haven't said so before, one of the greatest triumphs in my life is that I biked across the country to fight human trafficking last summer. That should be clear, since my major writing project right now is the book on the trip, 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves. You can check out my on-going blog with the same name. My main focus during the trip and now in writing the book was and is raising awareness. Too many millions of people here in the United States think that slavery is a thing of the past, something that we have conquered thoroughly, especially now after the Civil Rights Movement. Slavery happens elsewhere, we think, without stopping to realize that slavery of all forms most likely is happening right down the street from us at any given moment. Hundreds and thousands of young American girls, born and raised, are in danger of sex slavery every year--as it is, Polaris Project estimates that 100,000 Americans are forced into slavery each year (I direct you to the Polaris Project website, Polaris, for more information). That is a huge effin number for a country filled with citizens who simply can't believe such a thing possible. Indeed, the first presentation that I gave after my bike trip at a church brought forward a mother who argued with me, "There's no way there are 27 million slaves in the world. Don't you think we'd hear about it?"
Here is not the place where I will talk about slavery in our world today, I'm writing everyday in my book about it, but suffice it to say that human trafficking (an interchangeable phrase with slavery) is the fastest growing industry right now partly because of how secret it is. People who own or use slaves aren't going to come out into the open about it. But that doesn't mean that humans aren't the best drug, the best product, for one's personal pleasure imaginable: a pimp, or slave-owner of any kind, does not need to grow humans, does not need to buy humans, they just need to not get arrested. And the United States has been terminally slow in passing better and more strict laws to fight against human trafficking (the laws and response of the police make fighting human trafficking nearly impossible at times). Because of the nature of the crime, the laws in our country, and the attitudes that we wrongly hold about slavery which enable human trafficking, slavery will remain covert. Thus, awareness is the key.
Awareness is key. Believe me, some form of slavery is almost certainly occurring in your county, if not in your hometown, if not in your neighborhood. First things first, then, we need to acknowledge that fact. Essentially this means being extremely distrustful of all things and all people. I think that is a great shame, but there is no helping the inevitable. Once we know the realities of the world we live in--that our daughter could become a sex slave simply by going over to a friend's house or going out to watch a movie--we will feel the need to keep an eye out, preemptively for the sake of those we love and in order to perhaps catch human trafficking in process.
To me, though, awareness involves so much more than knowing facts and keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior. As I'll post tomorrow in my essay response to the shootings in Wisconsin and Colorado, we need to reflect on the attitudes we harbor in our society that could lead to someone's wanting to own or use a slave; we need to reflect on the attitudes that we harbor within ourselves that might lead or contribute to slavery. We cannot simply point blaming fingers every which way and refuse to acknowledge that in some way we might be part of the problem. Pornography, for instance, is not innocent at all, nor is watching pornography. The way we live our lives can also contribute to oppressive slavery without our knowing. All of this, I hope, can lead to more inward reflection. For me, awareness is essentially an act of confession. A small act of confession but an act of confession nonetheless. Becoming aware must help us grow as individuals and as a people if we ever hope to live in a better world.
Inward reflection might enable us to think less harshly and distrustfully of others, aware that the flaws and issues that other persons might exhibit can be found in our own character as well. If it doesn't, or even if it does, I cannot stand raising awareness of certain corrupt and loathsome undersides of the world around us and our own thinking and attitudes that undergird those undersides without also restoring the trust lost in the process of becoming aware. Too often I hear people use "naive" as a synonym for "trusting." I can't tell you how much that bothers me. I've told the story of the Jewish father protecting his daughter from me on a train and what that means to me, insert that story here.
Human trafficking/slavery is arguably the worst evil ever to exist, and it is unfortunately also one of the least known. So obviously I view it as my mission to make it known. But my mission of awareness extends beyond human trafficking into simply inviting deep reflection by all of us. And then, once we develop distrust of ourselves and everyone, I hope to show that the world isn't such a bad place after all. A hopeless mission, but part of my mission as a writer nonetheless.
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