Manifesto: A Library as Warfare
All of the things you thought were safe have been utterly conquered because we forgot to fight for them. Our peoples’ wits have atrophied; they have lost their taste for beauty; they harbor pride and cowardice in equal measure. They affirm atrocities that a long, slow process of indoctrination has convinced them are good. They throw away what they ought to hold most sacred and ask their phones to impart some meaning into an increasingly dreary existence. And our government welcomes this desecration of the human spirit; indeed, has helped to engineer it. Our government has fed on our complacency and grown into a ravenous, unruly beast that will continue to consume our children; the fruits of our labors; and our values, spitting out distorted caricatures of all that we hold dear as so many bones. The humanity formed by such an evil brew emerge as a mangled mockery of our Creator’s intent for those made in His image, addicts to modernity and lies with eyes no less hollow, faces no less sunken, bodies no less ravaged than that of the heroin addict. We are being sucked dry and it seems only a scant few love life enough to fight for it. Truly spectres walk amongst us.
“To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense.”
What, Then, Can Be Done?
We believe there is no quick and easy fix. No politician will save us; indeed, none but Christ and His atoning blood can rescue us. And behold! God is merciful and delights in bringing the dead back to life.
“...how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.”
So we repent sorrowfully. We pray fervently. We return to God joyfully. We disciple our neighbors eagerly. We teach our own children thoughtfully. We work diligently. We read heartily. And, if it please God, we rebuild successfully all that has been knocked down.
“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
Careful - he wants to eat your babies.
What, Then, Shall We Read?
We believe in drinking widely and deeply from the font of knowledge, the millennia of human history that God in His providence has so graciously preserved and bestowed to us. This means that the Bible is of primary importance, the one book we should read without ceasing from now until eternity. But we won’t stop there.
We will read nonfiction for strong backbones; fairy tales and lore for robust imaginations; satire for quick wit. We will read science fiction for a roadmap; poetry for beauty; fiction for pleasure. We will read Homer and Tolkien and everything inbetween (and before and after!). We will read what we agree with; we will read what we don’t, knowing that this is how we nurture intellect. We will feast on words, knowing that Christ is the Word and language was given to humanity as a gift, never to be extinguished or stamped out.
As such, we will read only the best, leaving insipid and inferior books to those diseased minds in search of an escape.
“His room is filled with books of the tamest and most puerile kind, and hour after hour he tries to lose himself in their feeble pages. All he seeks from life is not to think. For some reason thought is very horrible to him, and anything which stirs the imagination he flees as a plague.”
We Can Buy Books on Amazon. Or Get Them for Free from the Public Library. Why, Then, all This Fuss?
We believe that human intellect thrives when engaging with other humans in a public square. The Romans had the Forum; we have Amazon reviews. This ought not to be.
We likewise believe that libraries serve a distinct purpose: to provide their patrons access to truth and knowledge by collecting, preserving and making available the best books. The American Library Association heartily disagrees, seeing themselves instead as agents of radical change in an ongoing quest for complete societal transformation.
“ALA membership is open to individuals, organizations and non-profits, and businesses interested in working together to change the world for the better through libraries and librarians.”
“The broad social responsibilities of the American Library Association are defined in terms of the contribution that librarianship can make in ameliorating or solving the critical problems of society; support for efforts to help inform and educate the people of the United States on these problems and to encourage them to examine the many views on and the facts regarding each problem; and the willingness of ALA to take a position on current critical issues with the relationship to libraries and library service set forth in the position statement.”
We won’t have it. We have a vision, too.
A gorgeous old house in the Phoenix metro area repurposed as a multi-room library with plush armchairs, stained glass windows, and thick wooden shelves full of books lining the walls from ceiling to floor. A stuffed owl named Archimedes presiding over the checkout desk. Friendly librarians who give excellent recommendations and help you but also gently shush you if you get too loud. And if it’s not asking too much, maybe a beautiful mature tree out front to beckon our beloved friends inside.
Who, Then, Shall We Serve?
We will provide curriculum for homeschoolers and resources to help parents teach their own children how they deem fit. We will welcome in families with reluctant readers and introduce them to the best books they’ve never read. We will embrace the free thinkers and, like Ptolemy at Alexandria, dare to dream that our humble little library might someday attract and nurture great genius.
Why, Then, A Membership Fee?
To make this library happen, it is imperative that we not be beholden to outside influences (namely, government coercion). We are prepared to stand for this idea - this dream - and know that building in hostile territory is never easy.
“Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.”
We also see this as a legacy that will one day benefit our children and our children’s children. And for friends of the library, we hope Satis Library becomes an institution and a familiar friend for your children and your children’s children. God willing, we’re building for future generations.
For these reasons, we have decided upon a membership format with a fair fee structure to allow those who believe in this library access to our collections.
How, Then, Can You Help?
We have a vision; a conviction of a calling; strong backs; heads full of books; and some startup capital. We need your prayers; old books; help finding the perfect spot; and donations. Please help us build something that should exist.