I Have Inspired Critical Thought

My Monday morning post has turned into my Monday evening post. So I’m running about 12 hours behind. I figure with the full time job, two kids under 6, the husband, the exercise, and oh yeah, the unfinished novel, a 12 hour lag is not so bad.

Besides, if I’ve learned anything from blogger JJ Keith (who is awesome, and if you don’t know her work you should), blog posts are usually better when written after a glass of wine (or three).

The news with me is that I am slated to submit a piece to Yes! Magazine in a couple weeks. It’s a response to the winners of a writing contest based on an article I published with them a couple years back. It was a story I wrote about trying to avoid Monsanto products for a month. It was kind of a crazy little experiment that caught all kinds of flack. The Monsanto supporters hated me for obvious reasons, but the hippies came down on me too for not hating harder on GMO’s. It was a tumultuous time, made all the tougher  by the pregnancy hormones I didn’t yet know were coursing through my body.

Anyway, point is, Yes! Magazine held a writing contest wherein the prompt was my article. They sent me the stories written by the winners of the contest, and I am working on a thoughtful, witty, and smart response to their hard work.

I feel like I’ve hit a new point in my writing career. People are reading my work and responding to it, in their own writing. I have officially inspired critical thinking. I feel honored, and a little daunted. You know, as a writer you send stuff out into the world, and you assume some people read it. You might even go so far as to think that a few people not related to you stumbled upon it, but to sit down and read these essays from a range of people aged 9 to 20 (the winners are from three different categories: middle school, high school and college level) kind of blows ones mind. Or, at least, it blew mine.

I’ve read them all through, just as a first pass. I will likely read them each a few more times as I compose my thoughts. I want to write something that will convey how excited I am that the conversation about GMOs continues, that young people care about their health and their futures and are engaged in conversation about it. I also want to encourage them, and anyone else who has read my work, to keep an open mind. When we go into a conversation with our minds made up we might as well not bother. GMO’s are not going away, and there is many an argument for how they could be a source of great good. I guess my hope, ultimately, and the reason I feel so very honored to be a part of this whole thing, is that by being diligent in our questioning of how new technologies are managed we can have a part in ensuring their responsable use.

My official response is due July 17, so I have a couple weeks to work on it.