Freedom

January 13, 2015 {13/365} "Freedom"

« Je ne suis pas d'accord avec ce que vous dites, mais je me battrai pour que vous ayez le droit de le dire. » - Voltaire

It seems ironic that, so far this year, my Tech Tuesday posts have featured images of antiquated technology. I took this photo at the San Francisco International Airport on my way home from the Google Teacher Academy last summer. The printing press in the window of Compass Books struck me as technically beautiful and sophisticated despite being decidedly low-tech. The Press is actually a sculpture by Shawn Hibma Cronan, commissioned by the bookstore to represents the impact of type and the written word on the history of civilization.  I never featured this image on my blog because it was difficult to get a clear photo through the glass without reflections of other lights in the terminal. Yet this week, in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in Paris, The Press with its message of Freedom -- freedom of written expression -- merits, not only inclusion, but also reverence. As Voltaire stated over two hundred years ago: "I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight for your right to say it."