“Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”

John Adams,  1765

                One of the most indispensable technologies in the history of mankind is that of papermaking. From its earliest form as a mixture of plant fibers and water blended into pulp, then spread flat to dry, paper has been used in an enormous number of applications. Written or engraved upon and rolled into scrolls, printed and bound between covers into books, used to record transactions or correspond with others far away, printed and used for currency, pasted onto walls as decoration, drawn or painted upon, wrapped around gifts, fashioned into clothing, and used for personal hygiene as toilet paper; the product of papermaking technology is irreplaceable for humanity.

                Without paper made into books, I would not be the person that I am today. Books have educated and entertained me, increased my reach and stretched my mind, taken me places which I can never hope to see personally. Without books, I would be ignorant of the world, of history, and of the possibilities which the future holds. In my life, books have truly been more important to me than any other material object. I can live without clothes and shoes, electronic equipment, furniture, and even to a certain extent without food. But without books my mind would not be able to function satisfactorily and would starve, shrivel, waste away. A life without books would not be worth living.

                Without paper upon which to write my thoughts, record my dreams, and create my stories, I would be bereft of my prime creative outlet. Unfortunately, my memory is not an infallible one, and the things which occur to my mind would disappear without a trace if I were unable to write them down on paper. In fact, paper is my physical memory, something I would be mentally impoverished without.

                Without paper to hold in my hands, to inhale the heady fragrance of, to hear the rustle of as I riffle through it, my soul would be unconnected to the physical world. Paper as an artifact is ethereal and visceral, changeable and incorruptible, life and spirit and mind. Without paper, I would be only a lesser being, and unable to aspire to making a positive difference in this world.

                In closing, I must say that all the talk of “paperless technology” brought on by computers, the Internet, text messaging, and Blackberries, fills me with a sense of dread. Without a hardcopy of words, of words on paper, they could disappear like a comforting blanket of fog burned away by the cruel sun of electronic technology. I hope and pray that this never comes to pass as the norm for humanity. We would be so much less without paper, and we cannot afford the loss that day would bring.