WPSU's This I Believe
The Power of Understanding Other Viewpoints
- Contributor: Julia Basseur
Town: State College, PA
County: Centre County
Heard on NPR's Weekend Edition on August 28, 2008
When I was in the sixth grade I saw the musical “Rent” on Broadway. Afterwards I listened to the soundtrack non-stop for months, memorizing every lyric. For me, the message at the closing of the first act is what really stuck. The scene shows a group of 1990s “Bohemians,” including a lesbian lawyer, a nightclub dancer, and a drag queen, raising their glasses to everything outrageous, scandalous, and, well, different. Unhappily observing are four conservative rich businessmen. I feel that in general our society lacks the ability to understand other viewpoints and stray from traditional values in the modern world. Personally, I believe such qualities are essential to avoid conflict-- from locker-room tussles to world wars. My favorite line of La Vie Boheme, the song performed during this scene, is: “Let he among us without sin be the first to condemn!” I believe in this song; I believe that “sins” should be celebrated. That is, if cross-dressing, masturbation, and hating convention are indeed considered sins.
I feel no one in this world is “normal” or “perfect.” These are lies used to make us feel comfortable. Differences that vary from what people are accustomed to ultimately frighten people, causing discrimination. Yet without personal differences the world would be as dull as in the film Pleasantville. To me “sins” are delightful. They strip away any fake exterior impressions of identical, well-kept houses with evenly-trimmed lawns all in a row, and bring out the gritty realities of life. I find it silly how people omit certain truths about themselves to maintain a “normal” image. Because what is normal? Who is flawless? What characteristics are considered flaws? Each answer is: who knows? because nobody can agree. I would much rather argue about differences I cannot understand than ride in a red Volkswagen which matches that of my neighbor’s and her neighbor’s and his neighbor’s.
Throughout high school I babysat at a church every Sunday. I watched people shy away from the hippie teenaged mom at the nursery, but to me it was no different meeting her than meeting the 40-year-old “soccer mom” with 5 kids. At the restaurant where I work my fellow employees include students, mothers, graduates and drop-outs. They all have different lifestyles, different reasons for working. I have a friend who’s never been to church and another who goes multiple times per week; I have a queer sister and a frat-boy cousin.
To me all these people are equally amazing. Accepting others’ differences as well as valuing my own are qualities I try my hardest to honor. When I follow this belief I find I easily get along with others and seldom feel insecure about myself. Uniqueness is a virtue and something shared by every one of us. It should be cherished. As stated at the end of “La Vie Boheme:” “To anyone out of the mainstream, is anyone in the mainstream?” No! And it’s wonderful that way.
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