A Single Story

(1)

Chimamand Adichi, Nigerian writer and novelist, has written about the dangers of a single story. What is a single story, though? It is a story told from one perspective, one point of view, and is measured with one yardstick, and that's it! Until other people decide to tell the story from their own diverse perspectives, it becomes a universal truth when repeated again and again from the same point of view, even when not necessarily true. This creates a story, a single story .. a stereotypical story. Arabs are terrorists, Jews are miserly, Blacks are lazy, Muslims are oppressed.. and the list goes on! Sadly, even when other perspectives are vocalized, the single story, which has gained its credibility in a way or another, has its effect in life; some people will always be doubtful.. Which story to believe?

And I've only gone through the rather social examples, that have become political, yet these single stories can also be stories we face daily, frustrating single stories.

Think of all the times your teachers tried to plant their own opinions in your mind, until their opinions became part of a truth you might still believe in.. Think of the way your parents try to socialize you, teaching you what they believe is right and wrong.. And most importantly, think of the way you automatically believe doctors once they prescribe a medication they believe is most suitable for you. I'm not sure if it's a game of authority (believing the superior's single story) or if it's just what humanizes us, or makes us fools: obedience.

(2)

I've obeyed all my superiors for a long period of time.. parents, teachers, doctors.. and whoever thought I needed their perspective on life, to an extent where I did not give myself a chance to even question whatever they say. How to live, what to eat, what to know, what to do, what not to do.. Until I realized that I need to fall out of the character that I'm expected to possess. And this is what I came to realize:

Truths are not static!

Not all the "facts" are true. Most of them are series of thoughts, series of tests, and series of whatever makes the person gains credibility, even if they were series of plain lies, and all it takes is a minute to think of how we are governed by universal single stories to be able to object and challenge existing stories (and maybe reach our own truth which suits us better than other people's 'truths'). Think of Copernicus and how he changed the world's view! He questioned and challenged the existing (at his time) biblical story: that the earth is the center of the universe, and he introduced heliocentrism, which exposed people with a strong belief system (relying on religion) to a new story about the solar system. Yet, they eventually believed in his explanation.. until today, which is why we see people deviating from religious norms, for science has offered them a better truth.

(3)

This is how we should try to see things: Objectively! And we must try to not but be subjective in the process.
Listen to opinions, no matter how much they differ from yours, and verbalize your emotions in a way that rationalizes them in order to give them a sense of truth.
Ask for opinions more than asking people not to give you their opinion.
I believe not doing so makes one seem like person who is content with his or her single story, which might be completely ridiculous and insensible, and is not prepared to be challenged in any way.
You will be challenged in ways that are beyond your capacity to act wisely, but try to keep your belief system as weak as possible. That's the only thing that is better when weakened!