Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/994766
activists that help to explain where America has been and may be going. Among those voices is Star Trek actor George Takei, who spent some of his childhood years in Tule Lake Relocation Center and other concentration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. Of the Japanese American soldiers of the 442nd Regi- mental Combat Team who fought bravely in Europe, he writes: "They are my heroes. They clung to their belief in the shining ideals of this country, and they proved that being an American is not just for some people, that race is not how we define being an American. … Because of these heroes and their struggles, I can stand before you as a gay Japanese American, but even more importantly, I can stand before you as a proud American." Aimée Mullins, actress, model and athlete who has two prosthetic legs, also writes movingly about the "opportu- nity of adversity " and the need to change the narrative around disabilities. "It goes without saying that the only true disability is a crushed spirit. A spirit that's been crushed doesn't have hope, it doesn't see beauty, it no longer has our natural , childlike curiosity and our " By burying our past, we are becoming apologetic for who we are. But what we are doing is learning from our mistakes." — Rick Smolan innate ability to imagine. If instead, we can bolster a human spirit to keep hope, to see beauty in themselves and others, to be curious and imaginative, then we are truly using our power well." Already T h e G o o d Fi g h t has b een th e subject of a TED talk, was named as one of People magazine's top 10 books of the year, and has b een given to form er President Barack Obama and Parkland student anti- gun activist David Hogg. "I would love to get it into ever y high school in America," Smolan says. "By bury- ing our past, we are becoming apologetic for who we are. But what we are doing is learn- ing from our mistakes." Smolan finds our current political climate to be an exciting time in which Americans, young and old , are becoming more involved in our democracy. He is particularly enthused by educators' growing activism. Celebrants in front of the Supreme Court after the ruling legalizing gay marriage in June 2015. 46 cta.org Teaching & Learning Rick Smolan