Seems impossible to contribute anything meaningful. You know?
I remember a professor in teacher school in the late 90’s. We went along throughout the semester learning teacher-y things. The last class was packed with people. At the end of every semester, she told her story. She grew up in Palestine. Her story held the sad things a life under occupation holds. Rape. Torture. She looked out her window as a child and saw a dog and wished she could be as free as that starving skeleton dog.
I hadn’t known much about the Middle East before that moment when I committed to knowing more because of her story. Growing up in rural Western Colorado, that narrative, her story, was left out of the consciousness of things, at least from where I existed. I know I’m not crazy or remembering it wrong because of how my brother, his wife, and her family talk about things, the way they talk about Israel, the way they talk about Palestine...etc.
Here’s something that’s not related to the Middle East, per se, but is important for the impact of The Dangers of a Single Story.
I hope you’re telling your story and listening, too. I know you are because you’re here! Thank you from the bottom of my soft heart. Sending out love in all directions,
Jenny Forrester
Thank you, Jenny. Poignant and powerful. The image of the dog and her longing to be free…