Dear editor,
Whether you’re a child in Hatley who is curious about dinosaurs, ponies or bugs and just learning the alphabet, or a kid from Rozellville or Nutterville who loves technology but doesn’t have access to the internet at home, or a soon-to-be dog parent looking for advice, or a teen from Athens who loves comic books and who has questions in need of answers that are too hard to vocalize, or a traveling nurse from Wausau in need of audiobooks, or a retired construction worker recently caught up in some sci-fi classics – all (residents) of Marathon County deserve a public library capable of meeting our ever-evolving needs.
The public library provides each of us with a crucial freedom in present-day society: the freedom to seek the information we want. Everyone in our county has a physical place where they can get information about taxes, voting, passports, parenting, the law, medicine, art, crafts, gardening, anime, history and community events. Everyone has a space with resources to be curious, to explore, and to share their stories and knowledge with each other.
Current efforts by a few politicians, more beholden to power than to the diverse constituency they serve, to defund the Marathon County Public Library does not represent what is best for, or about, our community. We will not let the few who wield power with the loudest voices spreading fear and hate, divide and take away what makes our community great.
We in Marathon County know that the library is essential to us because it is us. Our library represents what our community knows; it represents where we come from, what we look like, what we’re interested in, and how we spend our time; it represents what we dream about and think about, and what we’ve learned from our pasts. Our library, at once, consists of what made our community, it is who we are now, and what we see for ourselves and future generations in our place.
A few people in our community should not dictate our ability to choose what information we decide to consume and what our children and families get to read and learn about. We know that our community is stronger when our library represents and serves all of us. Together, we need to demand that our public library remain fully funded. Tell your Marathon County Board supervisor to make sure our library and our community works for all of us. We can build a county where all of us are free to thrive.
In solidarity with my community,
Kaile Sepnafski of San Jose, California; formerly of Kronenwetter
Editor’s note: Wausau Pilot & Review gladly publishes commentary from readers, residents and candidates for local offices. The views of readers and columnists are independent of this newspaper and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wausau Pilot & Review. To submit, email [email protected] or mail to 500 N. Third St., Suite 208-8, Wausau, Wis. 54403.
