I'm taking an online course through edX. It's put on by the Harvard Divinity School and provides an overview of various religions, what the interpretations of the scriptures say and who has the power to interpret them.
The course is only a month long and so far, I've found an intolerance by some for religion being expressed in public. Going past the "Happy Holidays" theme and jumping into the idea that there should be no religious affiliation with National Holidays. I can't fathom Christmas being without it's core Christian beliefs as it's base. I digress.
There was a Ted Talk in the material called "The Danger of a Single Story" and I found it to be so relevant to so many things. It touches on the overall portrait that is portrayed about a place, a person, or even a historical event. That the single story becomes the only story. It's where stereotypes come from and although there is some truth in stereotypes it is not a complete truth, says the speaker. There's the other side of the coin. She gives the example of the British arriving in America, and how different that story would have been told from the Native Americans' point of view. The single story of Africa- a continent portrayed as poverty stricken, with senseless wars, starving children and AIDS. How media has perpetuated these one-sided views does a disservice to all involved in the story.
I always wanted to write my life story- to leave a landscape of all the stories of my lifetime. I imagine my life story to be as rich as Monet's Waterlilies.But it is the effort to look past perception that ultimately gives the richest story of all.
I've written before about assumptions, stereotypes, and the like. Being a woman, a nurse, a christian, and on and on- these identifiers are not false, but they are not the whole story. Looking no further than my two sisters it is obvious that, sure there are plenty of commonalities, but the life within each of us deserves to be identified as separate.
The same goes for every single person on this planet.
Why are single stories dangerous?
Well, it makes Mexicans illegal, hunters hillbillies, and beautiful blondes clueless.
It makes Catholics alcoholics and Atheists devil worshipers.
It makes celebrities gods and holy men freaks.
And yes, it makes Muslims terrorists.
I had the belief that all tall men could play basketball, that all women who went hiking had arm pit hair, and that pot smokers had long hair and no job prospects.
I've found that my previous 6 foot 7 inch boyfriend was pretty terrible at basketball, that my friend who hiked the Appalachian Trail has way normal grooming habits, and that some of the smartest people I've met were "pot heads".
The single story of an American in a foreign country is that everyone hates Americans. The belief that every homeless person is addicted and that all people with a disability are depressed only put barriers between what someone could do and what someone would do.
How does this change? How do we stop seeing things in one dimension? How do we start appreciating other people's whole stories? Most importantly, how can we help kids believe that they are not a single story? That the boy who doesn't read well could be a math whiz, or the clumsy girl in dance class could be an amazing athlete... do you know someone who needs to start living a bigger story? Do you need to start living your whole story?
The course is only a month long and so far, I've found an intolerance by some for religion being expressed in public. Going past the "Happy Holidays" theme and jumping into the idea that there should be no religious affiliation with National Holidays. I can't fathom Christmas being without it's core Christian beliefs as it's base. I digress.
There was a Ted Talk in the material called "The Danger of a Single Story" and I found it to be so relevant to so many things. It touches on the overall portrait that is portrayed about a place, a person, or even a historical event. That the single story becomes the only story. It's where stereotypes come from and although there is some truth in stereotypes it is not a complete truth, says the speaker. There's the other side of the coin. She gives the example of the British arriving in America, and how different that story would have been told from the Native Americans' point of view. The single story of Africa- a continent portrayed as poverty stricken, with senseless wars, starving children and AIDS. How media has perpetuated these one-sided views does a disservice to all involved in the story.
I always wanted to write my life story- to leave a landscape of all the stories of my lifetime. I imagine my life story to be as rich as Monet's Waterlilies.But it is the effort to look past perception that ultimately gives the richest story of all.
I've written before about assumptions, stereotypes, and the like. Being a woman, a nurse, a christian, and on and on- these identifiers are not false, but they are not the whole story. Looking no further than my two sisters it is obvious that, sure there are plenty of commonalities, but the life within each of us deserves to be identified as separate.
The same goes for every single person on this planet.
Why are single stories dangerous?
Well, it makes Mexicans illegal, hunters hillbillies, and beautiful blondes clueless.
It makes Catholics alcoholics and Atheists devil worshipers.
It makes celebrities gods and holy men freaks.
And yes, it makes Muslims terrorists.
I had the belief that all tall men could play basketball, that all women who went hiking had arm pit hair, and that pot smokers had long hair and no job prospects.
I've found that my previous 6 foot 7 inch boyfriend was pretty terrible at basketball, that my friend who hiked the Appalachian Trail has way normal grooming habits, and that some of the smartest people I've met were "pot heads".
The single story of an American in a foreign country is that everyone hates Americans. The belief that every homeless person is addicted and that all people with a disability are depressed only put barriers between what someone could do and what someone would do.
How does this change? How do we stop seeing things in one dimension? How do we start appreciating other people's whole stories? Most importantly, how can we help kids believe that they are not a single story? That the boy who doesn't read well could be a math whiz, or the clumsy girl in dance class could be an amazing athlete... do you know someone who needs to start living a bigger story? Do you need to start living your whole story?
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