It is ironic that the most fundamental cultural expressions of an era are also the most likely to result in a collective semantic satiety. Phrases fostered for their contemporary significance frequently become so familiar that we are desensitised to their meaning. The recitation, reposting and commodification of instantly recognisable quotations advocating better behaviours, such as kindness and acceptance, for example, produces this type of cognitive dissonance. In these instances, the most profound harm is not done to the semantic significance of such expressions, but to the compassionate practices they endorse. Our intentions may be sincere, yet it is critical thinking and personal action which protects idealistic discourse from being simply platitudes. Other currently popular directives support and make claims to an increasingly more inclusive and diverse society; however, without personal stories to demonstrate the transformative function of such aims, this, too risks becoming an overused and ultimately empty phrase.
Like all writers, though, I know that a story can make the imagined and the ideal real, so I am going to tell you mine.
As an adult without a single qualification, I read a story that taught me what I needed to do in order to accessillustrates how literary representation and the resultant recognition can profoundly change the way in which we think about the world, and about our own place within it.
