Dear Reader,

Normally we would take this time to tout the content in this issue of NewMyths, but I am going to use executive privilege to steer this in a direction hitherto unknow in this magazine—silence.

A major publishing magazine recently featured on its cover a panel discussion on whether a person of a given ethnicity (background, race, gender, etc.) can write fiction about people of a different ethnicity. I couldn’t stomach reading the article to the end, but my perusal indicated that the consensus of these publishing luminaries was that no, you cannot.

They want to silence you.

I find such a conclusion coming from industry gatekeepers to be particularly disturbing. Not to mention absurd.

Was William Shakespeare ever a queen of Egypt, an Italian, or a murderous general?

Was Ursula K. Le Guin ever an alien or a wizard of Earthsea?

Was Theodor Geisel ever a Who, or Richard Adams a rabbit?

Take this mindset to its extreme and as an author I would only be allowed to write about white males, blond, married with children, around 50 years old, who grew up on farms in Southern California.

Make-believe is what authors do. They sometimes do it well, sometimes poorly, and mostly their efforts fall somewhere in the middle. Thank God modern technology allows creative types a relatively easy and painless avenue around the gatekeepers.

I’m going to extend executive privilege a tad further, and humbly present you, dear reader, with two requests:

If you are a creator, I beg you, do not let others censor your stories (poems, films, art…) before they are even written.

If you are a reader, please judge each individual story (poem, film, art…) on its own merit, rather than on whether a particular person is “allowed” to play in that sandbox.

If you are not a reader, well, thanks for sticking with me this long. I hope you enjoy NewMyths Issue 58.

Best regards,

Scott T. Barnes – editor and founder

Dear Reader,

We are so glad you joined us. Susan Shell Winston did most of the work on this issue, and so I was astonished at some of the names in the table of contents. I wish to give a shout-out to one in particular: Jenny Rae Rappaport was a guest speaker when I participated in Odyssey in 1998. Rock on, Jenny!

In a recent newsletter I gave some thoughts to the modern version of censorship. I received some thoughtful criticism, and a lot of atta-boys as well. I have decided this is the one “political” issue that I’m willing to pontificate about outside of a close circle of friends.

I find it disturbing—even frightening—how many creative people are onboard with labeling, canceling, and attempting to defund and ruin people who disagree with them. During the Covid lockdowns, I saw some acquaintances on Facebook suggest that people who objected to wearing masks be denied healthcare.

Really?

If you voice an objection to a CDC guideline you should be allowed to die if you get sick? If so, you’d better read them every morning because them guidelines they keep a-changin’. Free speech means nothing if you already agree with the majority viewpoint.

Only the rebel, the outside voice, the crank and the visionary require protection. I would have qualified as all four at different moments in my life.

NewMyths.com is Life from a side-view mirror. We do not represent the majority voice and never will.

I pray that you join me in taking a metaphorical step back before using your platform to attempt to censor people—or joining movements that operate in that way.

Whatever you feel about today, whatever horrible grievance the offending party may have committed, tomorrow the silencing flames may burn in a different direction.

Straight at me. Straight at you. Let’s stick together in defending free speech.

Scott T. Barnes — editor and founder