Across That Bridge by John Lewis
This book by John Lewis is one of the most influential and most powerful books I've ever read. I read it a year, a little over a year ago, but now I'm taking it back into it during Black History Month to think about my place in the world. Over the course of the month, I'm going to continue to pull excerpts from this and talk about it
Hey, Kurt. Appreciate this insight. I haven't heard of that book, but you do paraphrase it really well. I'm really loving all the book recommendations, referrals and reviews I'm finding here on Swallow lately. So thank you for contributing to my Toread list. I appreciate that I'll have to read it and let you know what I think about it
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:05
And I think that directly threatens those people who feel that they want to put a thumb on top of those who seek justice and seek equity. But wouldn't it be beautiful if this was a required book? I just want to thank you for reading into this space as well. I love when people read books here and just feel free to continue in this thread if you want to, because the words in the air make a difference
Whether we are standing in protests against injustice or fighting cancer, battling addictions or bankruptcy, our problems can help each of us grow beyond our personal limits. Our problems initiate a struggle within our own souls that take us to the brink of our own experience. As we command our spirit to find a way to overcome these obstacles, we are forced to break past any false trappings of the identity and to focus intensely on what is real and what is truly important
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:21
This is also, I think, an abomination of what it means to be indulgent of great communication. It's not always the best word, and I think a lot of people are afraid to speak because they don't know how to frame what they're feeling. But there is obviously this really bumpy terrain that we're traversing right now where people have their words are like shards of glass because they're so cruel and we're hearing it
He does say at the end of that, he says, we have to recognize that there is no one stop shop in our system. So seeing the desired results requires information, persistence and patience, which is completely true. And I feel like all three of those are lacking. And sometimes we want to create change, positive change, but if it doesn't happen the way we want, when we want, that doesn't work
And I think that's something we lack in today's world is, well, I don't agree with you, so I don't want to know anything about it. And we're not able to make compelling arguments or turn the tide as quickly as we like or even make a dent because we can't argue to their other point. We don't
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 2:27
And do you know of a leader that might not even know that they're a leader? And can we call them out as a leader? Because humility to me, is one of the sexiest things and it is not a sister to self sabotage. I think some people relate. Like, if you're humbled, then how are you going to rise above if you don't toot your own horn? I've heard that. And I think it's a really interesting conversation to have
Laura L (she/her)
@Loloflow · 0:50
Hi there, Kurt. Thank you so much for this. I am really pensive about this idea that everybody's activism looks potentially different and leadership doesn't necessarily mean we're in the public eye. It can be as nuanced as a one on one conversation where your innate knowledge and studied knowledge can have influence for the greater good. I think I'm going to pick up this book. It sounds amazing. Love, John Lewis. Thanks
And a lot of people are groomed for politics nowadays, which means what is authentically your life and what was done just so you had a good resume or you had, quote, a good resume that would draw people to you. This will be to be continued
As it continued from the previous post. Still John Lewis's chapter on truth from across that bridge. Congressman Lewis goes on to write in so many ways, I see that disconnection from the day to day life of ordinary people hampering politics today
And it's just a matter of now backing that up. He continues to write as Henry Thoreau strongly believe to comply with an unjust system is to accept abuse. It is not the role of the citizen to follow the government down a path that violates his or her own conscience. Yeah. And how we are still dealing with an incredibly unjust system. We're still having the same they're trying to lead us down this path when we know we know what's right. We know what's right
There's a thing there about leadership, and then it's having the right people around you to not prop up your ego, but to help you step into what you can really do. So I definitely love this. I will probably start a leadership conversation just because it's one of those topics. I absolutely love to hear what people think. And thank you so much for approaching that, bringing it to my attention. I really appreciate your reply
He continues later in the chapter. Sensitization is one of the key benefits of protest. It makes people aware that there is a problem that requires the attention of our democracy. However, protest is not an end in itself. If it's the only strategy a movement brings to bear on a social problem, it loses its impact. It must be employed as a means to some specific end and as a building block of an entire campaign
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:25
Kurt, it's so interesting that you brought up Occupy Wall Street, because that's exactly what happened. And when people wanted a list of ideas, a list of demands, the basic sentiment from those who protested was, we don't want to go to the old ways, so we're not going to reform anything. We want to just scrap it and start again, which is obviously like nation building. They didn't offer any reforms
Not to get too political and all that, but as somebody who's served in the military and seen what I've seen, yeah, we could definitely do a lot more to help others than dumping it into ways to kill others as well. Lewis writes war is bloody, war is messy. It not only tends to hide the truth, but to sacrifice the truth
Because we're all in this together, where we look at everything the way that it is or not. We have to find common ground. We have to lead with love to be able to move things forward, because we clearly can't get it done if we don't have more people on board. We can't create this change if more people are not on board. So it's very hard to do. I realize every day how hard it is, but it's also incredibly vital
This is the final chapter of John Lewis's book. It's called reconciliation. There are so many brilliant points and I've already made one reporting and I couldn't fit it all in there. And honestly, if you've listened to all of this, you know how important this book is and you should be giving it away to others, reading it yourself, studying it. This really is at, as it says in the title, a Vision for Change in the Future of America