As a fan and advocate of all things related to travel and history, it was wonderful to recently be able to sort through a collection of antique postcards in San Francisco. Many were of photographs from the time immediately surrounding the 1906 earthquake and fire. However it was the writing on the backs of the cards that I found most interesting. This included descriptions of the date and location of the photograph and a mixture of carefully scripted and hastily scrawled greetings to friends and loved ones. Each was a precious time capsule and part of the fabric that makes up our cultural legacy.
Looking at these postcards I thought about the debate over the teaching of reading and writing cursive script in our schools. Based on what I’ve read, the ability to read cursive is being lost. Without the ability to read cursive these postcards would be trash. It’s important for our personal and family histories to be able to read what has been written, and not just letters and journals penned by our great grandparents, but also the beautiful scripts written by our cultural ancestors. When I visited the National Archives in Washington DC, I was able to look at the Declaration of Independence and Constitution mere inches away. The aging parchment and pen strokes told me far more about the time and place they were written than a digital text copy ever could.
I think this familial and cultural continuity is something that is being lost in the debate. So, whatever else you do today, postcard, letter or journal, pick up a pen and write.