Beauty Will Make the World: Why You Should Support a Cause That Isn’t Urgent
I have to admit it: among so many worthwhile causes asking for your support this time of year, our journal’s cause is not an urgent one. Most people who read this letter will choose to send their giving dollars elsewhere. Fair enough. But let me tell you a story about why I think you should support Dappled Things anyway.
The Builders of Paris and the Meaning of Progress
Growing up in Colombia and the United States, I thought of cities as necessary evils: places that were certainly more convenient for humans than the untamed wilderness, but that were ultimately pockmarks on the face of Mother Nature. I was not an environmentalist, but it seemed obvious to me that from the point of view of an objective, non-human observer, the universe was not improved for having in it cities—or for that matter, for having in it most of the works of man.
That notion melted away the first time I saw Paris, when I was twenty years old. Gazing across the Seine at Notre Dame’s towers and gargoyles, my heart leapt like a flying buttress. I stared slack jawed at the Louvre’s façade lined with countless statues, the Tuileries garden spreading behind me, and I was filled with gratitude that such a place existed. It was a place, moreover, birthed forth and nurtured by a Catholic culture, however tortuous its history. A place God could look upon and see that it was good.
After that experience, I could never again think of art as trivial. For all the wonders of science and technology, could God look upon the microprocessor or the automobile—to say nothing of the splitting of the atom—and unambiguously say that they were good? Could anyone?
Ever since, I have been convinced that it is in the works of saints and artists that most of what can be called human progress really lies. The power to make the world better—more full of beauty, goodness, and truth—is in their hands. They are the true builders of Paris.
Builders Need Patrons
If we are to have true progress in our time, don’t expect it to come from governments and technology companies. It was not Augustus in his well lit palace but Christ in his dingy manger who transformed the world.
Yet today’s saints and artists, like most of those who came before, can’t work alone. Saints need the Church, and artists need both patrons and an audience. If we want saint-artists, we need all three. That’s where projects like Dappled Things come into the picture, and why your support is so important.
Punching Above Our Weight
When we launched Dappled Things in December of 2005, we had no idea that almost twenty years later, our journal would not only still be thriving, but that Catholic literature and art would be experiencing such a renaissance as we see today. Just in the past year, our print subscribers and web visitors have increased so fast that we have been regularly running out of inventory, while both the quantity and quality of the work we receive continues to rise, allowing us to become extremely selective in what we choose to publish.
No, our work isn’t “urgent.” But we hope you’ll agree that it is important.
We have always been, and continue to be, a lean organization run by volunteers, one that punches way above its weight. To continue doing so, we need both your prayers and financial support.
Can you support us with a gift of $100, $50, $25, or even just $5? Or are you in a position to contribute $1,000, $500, or $250? We need donors at all these levels to reach our goal of $15,000, without which our all-volunteer team cannot continue publishing this little magazine that has shaken up the Catholic literary landscape during the past eighteen years. Please consider how much you can give and make your donation today.
