Opportunity has long been held by philosophers as an essential part of the social contract between citizens and their governments or communities. Opportunity is a concept that is fundamental to the happiness, rights, and prosperity of each individual citizen who sacrifices the broad freedoms of his individuality for the security of the society. When thinking about opportunity in reference to publishing, we see a community that appears more like a country club than a census of the voices that make up the community. 

In the preamble of the Declaration of Independence we are confronted with the 18th century revolutionary idea that each human has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Philosophical and political theorists debate about what a society ought to provide for its citizens in order to respect the rights of the individuals for societal flourish and healthy, well educated and established civic and societal engagement. However, we continue to fall short of providing a level playing field for all of our citizens to meet their capacity.

Centuries of oppressive, segregationist, and restrictive laws and practices to box in minority and the poor citizenry in the United States has allowed the wealthy to insulate their safe spaces of education and corporate executive offices to keep everyone else out. They have pulled back the strings that promoted democratic values within our society and replaced them with corporate greed, control, and a struggle for resources and opportunity for the lower classes to fight for. However, the story of this country falling into oligarchy until the citizens of our democracy restore themselves to control is a cycle. We’ve fallen into it before, and we will claw ourselves out of it again. 

Though, we must not only protect the American worker. We must protect the American entrepreneur, the American farmer, artist, teacher, and all of the voices of the underserved across this country. Stories are what bring about the change needed to be cemented back into the tapestry of the United States. Literary earthquakes have preceded and supported the greatest social movements like the Abolitionist movements and civil rights movements. Books, stories, articles, and speeches have all been used as tools of inspiration. And the powerful know that is true.

That is why they are buying up the voices of the people like major media companies and social media networks. Publishing companies have long been held as the gatekeepers of publication, and have not done the work to root out bias and discrimination in how their businesses receive, scrutinize, change, market, and sell work from diverse voices. This is a topic written about widely from industry insiders, and that is why Four Elements Press is different. We know the publishing industry exclusivity works for their corporate billionaire interests, but it’s not working for us, the American people. 

We will be publishing a range of writers to showcase silenced voices during this era of banning books. As publishers comply with hateful rhetoric and discriminatory business practices, we will not. 

Will we have standards? Of course.

Our writers will work hard to meet those standards for our audience for the purpose of uplifting and uniting our American and global community. 

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