The Power of Physical Books in a Time of Erasure

We are living in an era where history is being erased in front of our eyes.

From book bans to restrictive bills and digital censorship, the truth is under attack from all sides. What was once accessible is being rewritten—or deleted—before we can blink.

But our need to document truth is as old as humanity itself. Our earliest ancestors knew the power of preserving their stories. Long before books, before written language, there were cave drawings—etched into stone tens of thousands of years ago. Those drawings captured the lives, struggles, and triumphs of people whose names we’ll never know. But their stories survived.

Because physical records endure.

Throughout history, those in power have tried to destroy knowledge. From the destruction of the Library of Alexandria to Nazi book burnings to the book bans we are seeing today—erasing the truth has always been a tool of control.

And for some, simply reading was a threat.

During the Salem witch trials, women who dared to read or possess books—especially those seen as unconventional or containing knowledge—risked being branded as witches. Literacy, curiosity, and knowledge made them dangerous in the eyes of those who sought control. The written word was seen as power. And power in the hands of women was feared.

But they’ve never succeeded in erasing everything.

There’s always a kernel of truth that survives.

Books endure.

Stories endure.

Books are smuggled across borders, hidden under floorboards, passed hand to hand in defiance. They cannot be edited with a keystroke or wiped away by an algorithm.

That’s why, when we see what’s happening today—like the National Parks Service quietly erasing references to the trans community from the Stonewall National Monument website—we know it’s part of a larger pattern.

For those who know the history, it is believed that Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans woman, was the person who threw the first brick at the Stonewall riots—sparking the LGBTQ+ rights movement. That truth was there. Now, it’s gone from the website.

But it’s not gone from books.

It’s not gone from the people who remember.

And it won’t be gone from the future if we keep writing it down.

If you want to preserve your place in history—as a thought leader, a changemaker, a voice that matters—put it into a physical book.

Your words deserve to outlast fleeting headlines and social media feeds.

Your story, your knowledge, your truth—bound, printed, and placed into the world—becomes part of the permanent record.

Because when history is being erased, writing it down is an act of resistance.

Because when the flames die down, the truth still finds a way to survive.

Let’s ensure the truth endures.

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#TruthMatters #HistoryMatters

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#BookBans #Stonewall

#ProtectTheTruth #BookBurning

#ResistErasure #Storytelling

#PreserveHistory #SalemWitchTrials

#WomenWhoRead #KnowledgeIsPower