I want to share one of the most interesting books I’ve read recently. On the surface, it’s a history of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, that describes an amazing life of high adventure lived between the courts of British royalty and the wilderness of 17th century America. But really it’s the history of an idea — the idea of freedom of thought, freedom of conscience — and how that idea shaped America, and the world, in the centuries that followed.
Most importantly, this book illustrates the evolution of the human soul — the evolution of consciousness — that’s essential to understand if we care about the work of social change. What ideas are right for our time and how do we introduce them? To answer this, we have to develop a sense for where we’ve come from and where we’re going, which I try to describe a bit in this podcast.
I refer to a couple articles in this podcast. One on the state’s overreach into the realm of disinformation and truth…
…and the other on the separation of nation and state.
And a quick tip: If you prefer listening to books instead of reading them, you can get audio books for free through your local library and an app called Libby. I’ve found it to be a fantastic resource.
Hope you enjoy!
Yes, writers have to eat, but paywalls just punish low-income people, and why shouldn’t they have access to the writing and ideas they want?
Real social change seems impossible. But looking back in history, it has always seemed that way.