Kienna+K’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech

=Title of Speech=

On Being Open-Minded =Text of Speech=

In //The Great Gatsby,// Fitzgeraldwrites about the “unreality of reality.” “A promise that the rock of the world is founded securely on a fairy’s wing.” And I’ve always liked that idea: that reality has no exact, sturdy definition. We each create our own reality inside of our own heads. For example, have you ever thought about how strange the concept of color is? The shirt I am wearing right now is red. Or at least, it is what I’ve always been told is red. It’s entirely possible that my vision of red is completely different from yours. There is no way to prove that we are all seeing the same color right now. Maybe you look at this and see what I would call blue, while I’m actually seeing the color you would call yellow. But we have both always been told this color is red, so, to us, it is red.

Each of our perspectives are different, and it’s so easy to forget that other people do not think exactly like we do. Our lives are, after all, defined by the way we perceive our surroundings and circumstances, by the way we view other people, by the way we choose to remember what has happened and look towards what is to come. In our lifetime, we will never leave this body or mind behind; it stays with us through it all. It’s the one constant. Our opinions and ideas are, in many ways, defined by the circumstances we experience in this mind and this body. Our parents, our friends, our teachers, the place where we grew up…these all shape how we think about the world. So it can be difficult to understand how other people think and why it’s so often so different from what we think. That’s exactly why we should be aware of it, though. No two people in this room have the exact same definition of reality or of right and wrong. And no one has the correct definition. I know we all like to think we do. I like to think I do. But when we don’t consider views different from our own, we hinder understanding, we hinder progress. We don’t have to agree with everyone, but we should respect them enough to actually listen to and consider what they have to say. Then, you’re allowed to dislike people and disagree with them; all I’m asking is that you know why do.

I know, you’ve heard this all before, that useless advice that’s supposed to encourage diversity or self-confidence like “We’re all unique individuals” or “Be yourself because we all have something to offer” and all that. This isn’t new, revolutionary information. Or, at least, I sure hope it isn’t. But just because we know we are all different does not mean that we are //aware// of it or that we //consider// it. We should not only acknowledge these differences, but incorporate them into our lives as much as possible. Understanding begins with empathy; empathy begins with realizing that you cannot expect every single person to think like you do, have the same opinions as you do, perceive the same way you do.

I’m not up here to call for an end to judging people, because as nice as that idea is, it’s impossible. And I’m not here to tell you we should abolish opinions all together, stay silent when someone says something we disagree with, be passive and nonchalant about what we think is right or wrong. Standing by your morals is a good thing, and conflicting ideas are healthy. That’s why our government works. There is room for a diverse range of ideas. We have no shortage of “controversial issues” here, and that’s a good thing. There is freedom for the extremes of all issues, regardless of whether they align with the government, your next door neighbor, or members of your own family. In America, we are free to have our own opinions and share them. In the America I want to live and grow old in, we will not form our own opinions, but listen, //actually listen,// to the opinions of others. The system is designed for conflicting ideas, for the freedom of debate. But that system only works if we are willing to actually discuss and actually debate. We must be willing to truly listen to the other side and acknowledge its validity (or, at the very least, it’s lack thereof). Listening to our opposition is beneficial, whether it changes your mind or just gives you all the more reason to stay with your original thinking. While it’s easy to just go with the latter, we should try to resist that temptation as best we can. Because we cannot move forward or learn if we do not pause to consider the whole spectrum of opinions that accompany our own. We should be open-minded, open to compromise. Because as Congress has very kindly demonstrated, it’s pretty difficult to get anything done when you refuse to compromise.

Firmly believing in what you stand for is a wonderful thing, but we shouldn’t do it blindly. We should know //why// we think the way we do. We shouldn’t assume that what is comfortable and familiar is necessarily right. We should know why we support a specific candidate, why we are pro-choice or pro-life, why we support or oppose same-sex marriage, we why might feel justified in changing other peoples’ ways of life. We shouldn’t just accept morals- whether we get them from our parents, the Bible, our friends, our role models or wherever else-but instead we should draw from these sources and analyze them to form our own ideas.

In the America I want to live and grow old in, people will be passionate about what they believe in, passionate about change, passionate about progress, but also open-minded and willing to meet in the middle when its necessary.

There are an infinite amount of realities. It would be purposeful ignorance and immaturity to believe our own is the only right one. We should never be satisfied with what we think and what we know, because there is always more to experience, more to learn, and more to try to understand.

=Cite Your Sources=