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Many have described the state of America in near apocalyptic terms. Such descriptors include “post-truth,” “too late capitalism,” “polycrisis” and the “age of cultural stagnation.”

Week after week, the nation receives debilitating news, from our latest reading comprehension levels to the “death of social connections in America.” Crises proliferate, accompanied by breaking news headlines, floods of devastating imagery and mis- and disinformation.

As crises accumulate, be it political, cultural, economic, environmental or behavioral, they bring about a sense of urgency and paralysis in the population. Hope dwindles. Ideals falter. Cynicism ensues.

Instead of succumbing to the politics of urgency, where panic and mistakes are inevitable, we should allow for an embrace of, unexpectedly, paralysis.

This often influences people to find solace in the sedative practice of mindless streaming and scrolling. While a personal algorithm is comforting, its deceptive character atomizes and lulls us into a false sense of infantile fullness. In these user-designed worlds, your views, beliefs and facts gain validity.

As a result, shared meanings among citizens are eradicated and political opponents are empowered to unbudgingly “speak their truth.”

Use paralysis — the inability to act politically — as an opportunity to be affected by moments that carry the potential for discovery and joy. Understand this respite as a way to recharge, reinvigorate and take advantage of a period that can nurture future creative acts of generosity, compassion and sensemaking.

Amid culture wars, libraries, archives and museums represent contemplative places of silent revolt. As havens of care and transformation, they leave indelible marks on people through intellectual and aesthetic force.

Their preserved expressions overwhelm, inspire awe, reinforce smallness and remind people of their ignorance – all essential features in the production of knowledge. Lacking understanding in these spaces can infect us with curiosity and place us in a state of innocence.

But unlike cultural workers, current political forces judge certain forms of knowledge as injurious. They paternalistically protect and prolong people’s innocence by censoring information, an extreme example being the deletion of large swaths of critical health datasets to combat gender ideology.

Such behavior is fatal, as it inhibits growth and maturity while reducing awareness and responsibility.

Let the stories held by these cultural institutions act as guides because, fictional or not, they are forms of enrichment. They inform others of stories they didn’t know we had within themselves, allowing readers to find meaning and value in their lives.

Cole Ross | Digital Design Director

Stories empower, build empathy and form cohesion. They help people diagnose their circumstances and pinpoint the origins of their beliefs, values and biases. In their multiplicity, stories direct us to the larger narrative being told and can act as reflective tools for evaluation and adjustment for oneself and society.

Just as good stories require tension, so does democracy. Conflicting ideas and varied struggles allow our system to grow and maintain hope for an ideal resolution. Democracy thrives on conflict and differences, not consensus and sameness.

The passions exhibited in cultural institutions make them the ultimate battlegrounds. The potential for challenging the status quo is an ever-present possibility.

Their books, artwork and evidence are extensions of lives lived, both present and past. These materials, and images especially, have agency; inherent in their form and content are beliefs and ideas that inform, persist and influence our behavior in specific ways. Their inanimate status can be animated and mobilized by people who resonate with their ideas.

There will always be critics and external pressures wishing to discredit disruptive ideas and histories to hinder both old and new voices from entering democracy’s narrative and, by extension, the public’s conscience. With that, marginalized actors’ contributions are essential to reflect a more accurate historical record.

Cultural institutions are, and must remain, places of tension and tolerance — a historically liberal notion whose existence and practice in society grows sadly ever fainter.

Though many culprits can be blamed for tolerance’s withering status and its transition to protect personal liberties at the expense of others, cultural institutions exist to alter this course. They lend dignity, preserve and care for the diversity of human expression and remain inclusive to all, no matter their creed. These institutions are well aware that freedom can produce unfreedom and disproportionately impact another’s well-being.

So, when paralyzed with political distress, find time to flock to these awe-inspiring spaces. Dialogue with creative minds who have obsessed and toiled over mankind’s most intriguing questions from nonsense to freedom, and who have supplied gifts of insight to future generations.

Remember, too, that when searching for new horizons and imagined alternatives, we can be pessimistic, but never hopeless.

Dominic Zaffino is a second-year graduate student studying library and information science. He can be reached at dzaffino@syr.edu.

Published on February 17, 2025 at 11:57 pm