What strange times we live in!

When the world we live in shifts, our response to it changes. Right down to this blog. Let’s be specific:

This will be the last in the “Maps Change Things” series. Declining health requires that I give up this enjoyable way of keeping in touch with you on things that matter. Make no mistake: my farewell goes with deep appreciation for the connection we have.

Like maps, your interest and support over the years has changed things!

July’s blog, which was focused on how we deal with persistent bias in maps, statues and other powerful symbols, elicited such an encouraging range of thoughtful responses that I want to share some of them with you here.

First, the contributors:

Michael Ensley and his wife Sandy were born and educated in the US, moved to Saskatchewan where Michael became a professor of history. They now live in the Niagara region of Ontario.
Ron and Lin Wilensky of Windermere, Florida, who founded Dave’s House to serve individuals with serious mental illnesses.
Kevin Kaiser, National Park Ranger in Denali National Park, Alaska, formerly served in Big Bend N.P., on the Mexico/Texas border.
Doctor Aribert Peters, prominent leader in the global climate movement, Bonn, Germany, son of the late Dr. Arno Peters who tilted our image of the world toward justice with the Peters World Map.
Bob Abramms, prominent figure in the world of maps and social justice, who divides his time between Amherst, MA and Santa Cruz, Guatemala.
Anderson Webber, an upcoming graduate in the Master of Spatial Analysis program at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.
Cherise Barr, whose grandfather immigrated from Poland, had a career as director of an art gallery in NYC, and is now our good neighbor in Orlando.

There are others; the list could be extended. But these will give you a good overview of the variety and depth of the contributions.

Michael Ensley: Michael writes “You are right; the statues honour people; the question is who should be so honoured, why, and for how long? Worth reading is Heather Cox Richardson’s How the South Won the Civil War; the essence of the Old South never died, and American individualism perpetuates the struggle. Canada is less individualistic and moves to collective action in crisis.

“The two countries have been different on a founding level; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness with its emphasis on individualism in contrast with Canada’s Peace, Order and Good Government, promoting collective action via the Crown. So yes, we are different, and are under heavy duress as the U.S. northern neighbor.”

Ron Wilensky: When I first met Ron he had been invited to talk about Dave’s House, which he and his wife Lin had launched to serve people in special need. Dave’s House works to end homelessness for men and women with serious mental illness. Since 2008, Dave’s House has provided permanent supportive housing for over 100 men and women. Founders Lin and Ron Wilensky personally funded the two first Dave’s House homes in 2008 and established Dave’s House as a 501c3 non-profit organization in 2009.

When Ron and Lin asked for models of similar operations that might be helpful to them, I recommended l’Arche, a highly effective service organization launched by Canadian Catholic theologian Jean Vanier. Later, when Vanier died, his secret sexual history was revealed, and his name was stripped from schools and other institutions intended to honor his good deeds. I apologized to Ron for having offered him so mistaken a recommendation!

Ron surprised me with his response. “Yes, we all have made mistakes in our lives. Vanier is a hero and saint to me despite his ‘human condition’ and failings. (Some guy I know of from biblical history also believes in forgiveness. Ha!) Mother Theresa said: ‘Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right where you are. You can find Calcutta all over the world if you have eyes to see. Wherever you go, you can find people who are unloved, unwanted, uncared for, just rejected; completely forgotten and alone.’ So that's what my wife Lin and I did. We found our own Calcutta.”

Kevin Kaiser: As a Denali Park Ranger, Kevin Kaiser normally sees visitors from all over the world; this year he has seen mostly Alaskans, given that the border is closed and many rightfully don’t want to travel to the US.

Kevin writes: “I am very glad to see a rising social consciousness in the US. It is good to re-examine history and learn and grow from our mistakes, but it’s complicated. John Muir has left arguably the most significant conservation legacy in the U.S. (and he wasn't even American). Of course, that is why he is celebrated and remembered. He published hundreds of pages on the importance and splendor of the natural world, and a few paragraphs that were derogatory towards African Americans and Native Americans. I believe his views of Native Americans were complex. As a young immigrant in Wisconsin he empathized with the native Winnebagoes who were pushed off their native lands and had their way of life drastically changed; very progressive for the 1860's I'd say. He later suggested their presence tainted an otherwise pristine Yosemite Valley, though I (want to) believe he would have said this about anyone living there. Later in his life he lived with and interacted with Indigenous cultures in Alaska and enjoyed learning and honoring their customs, beliefs and harmonious way of life. Like all of us, he was a human and had flaws; he (or she) who is without sin can cast the first stone. 150 + years from now I'm sure societal values will evolve from what they are today; most of our current ethics and world views will likely seem outdated.”

Doctor Aribert Peters: Dr. Aribert Peters is an environmental activist and founder of the German Association of Energy Consumers, an NGO focusing on implementing renewable energy technologies. Dr. Peters sent me the following link, and since I found it stimulating, I wanted to share it with you as well.

Extinction Redemption – A Letter to the Earth at Easter by Professor Jem Bendell. “We are part of the earth and it is part of us,’ wrote Chief Seattle. I am an aspect of you, a potentiality of you. As you produced me and everything that we are, when I experience that unity, I know we are all forgiven.”

Bob Abramms: The phone rang. “This is Bob Abramms of ODT. As you know, we use your book A New View of the World in our corporate training courses to help with diversity training, helping to loosen up peoples’ previously conceived agendas. Problem is that we can’t keep the book in stock; the publisher is slow in filling orders, and sometimes it’s embarrassing to not have the book when the course begins.” I tried to think of times when a business might encounter such a problem; too much demand! One solution occurred to me, and I suggested it to Bob: “Become a co-publisher. That way you will create your own supply as well as the demand.” So began ODT’s momentous transition from a management training and consulting firm to a business working in the precision world of cartography and the practical world of publishing.

Over the years since then Bob and I have become colleagues in many ways; publishing, educating, conceiving ideas, and developing new resources and products.

Bob offered these relevant links:

Racism & Maps – Black Lives Matter. Racism educator Jane Elliot gives a passionate answer on Oprah.
Cultural Diversity Sourcebook. Free downloadable book on white and class privileges.
Ethnocentrism & Maps. We have an opportunity to expand human consciousness if we put ourselves in the "others'" shoes.

Anderson Webber: Finally, I want to share with you some maps created by Anderson Webber as part of his graduate studies in spatial analysis. The first map shows the relationship between diabetes and neighborhood Walk Score in Toronto; the second is an interactive web app visualizing 70 years of forest fires in British Columbia; and the third was created as part of academic research into the use of geospatial analysis in public transit planning.

The fact that Anderson is my youngest grandson is only part of the reason that I find these maps exciting. The history of maps is fascinating and important, but it’s the future of maps – and our ability to enlist them in our efforts to make the world a better place -- that is truly thrilling.

Cherise Barr: “Your book How Maps Change Things convinced me you are a citizen of the world as well as a neighbor in Orlando. Therefore, we think of you when we read news or otherwise become aware of what shapes the future of this our global home.”

Just over 100 years ago in November as the nations celebrated the end of the First World War Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian army wrote In Flanders Fields:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row…

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.

In that spirit I pass the torch of peace and justice for the world. It’s my fervent hope that you and others who have caught the vision will carry the torch until this world becomes the world it ought to be. All power and blessing and success to you!