Live for a change!

In the 1841 preface to his novel Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens responded pointedly to his critics: “I have no desire to make proselytes among such people. I have no respect for their opinion, good or bad; do not covet their approval; and do not write for their amusement.”

Dickens was responding to critics who took offense to his raw, biting take on the squalid conditions for the poor in 19th century England. He created characters that held up a dark, unflattering mirror to Victorian society. The stark daily realities faced by the characters he created offended the sensibilities of many of his more affluent contemporary audience, who craved more romanticized visions of the characters. 

But Dickens was unapologetic of his work. “I venture to say without reserve; for I am not aware of any writer in our language having any respect for himself, or held in any respect by his posterity, who has ever descended to the taste of this fastidious class.”

The greatest writers, as Dickens himself observed, ply their craft with unrepentant, often defiant, conviction. Their work is the truth of the world as they see it. The best at their craft will stand on that platform, unwilling to compromise that conviction to sway with the blowing winds of the masses. The lasting nature of a work, then, emanates from a writer’s willingness to remain steadfast in purpose in the face of violent headwinds, from wherever they may blow.

This has been a constant war for me as a writer. My nature is to please others, and to want to build, and mend, fences, with my words. But the more time I’ve spent reading this summer, the more I come face to face with the reality that standing on conviction means often facing conflict and opposition, and being gracious, but unwavering, in remaining true to those convictions.

As a friend observed today, the opportunity to weave words into works that leave lasting impacts on their readers is a gift. It is also humbling, because of the awareness of vulnerability which comes with the courage to put those words into the public sphere to be judged for good or ill by others. But to those whom gifts are given, as Jesus instructed, much will be expected. Or, as Benjamin Gates observed in National Treasure, (I paraphrase here), those who possess the ability to act, also have the responsibility to act. When we are possessed of certain talents, we are also disposed, I believe, to apply those talents to the betterment of the world in which we live. Sometimes they change the world, but more often, they simply grow our corner of the world.

Unfortunately, truth and reality are rarely appealing or attractive. In fact, they are often dressed in rags that would cause us to dismiss them as we might a beggar on the street.  

In fact, truth is most often a bitter medicine for us to swallow. Temptation often leads us away from this spoonful. We would rather wallow in the misery of a ghastly condition than to accept the tonic that would bring us healing. Even a cursory glance of social media feeds indicates this particular affliction has not changed much since Dickens’s time, nor through the course of human history. We are disposed to remain in the comfort of those who share our view of the world rather than allow ourselves to be challenged by uncomfortable truths that may drastically shift our paradigm. 

There are a great many appalling ills in this world which could be healed, were more of us willing to courageously confront them rather than averting our gaze and bowing toward popular opinion. Truth, if it is to produce lasting change, must be welcomed instead of shunned. There is courage, after all, in being willing to risk hurt and face rejection, rather than to turn a blind eye.

This world is full of suffering. We’ll never heal by burying our talents in the sand. Instead, let us confront the suffering with truth wielded with mettle in love.

Love is not timid. Let us neither be timid in its pursuit.