Blog #1

Blog #1

While reading Russo’s Between Speech and Silence: Reflections on Accountability, one particular line stood out to me: “Active listening implies and openness to a more collective process, one in which those most privileged are not at the center, and one in which our ideas and our selves are open to modification, change, and transformation” (Russo). I found this line so important because I feel like this is often forgotten by people who are trying to make a difference. While it is still extremely important for us to share our opinions and views in order to make change, we must also be open to others ideas. Often times, people can get lost in the group and don’t always get to get to contribute. It can be intimidating and difficult to stand up and speak when others are running the show. 

For myself, I know I need to start stepping down and listening to others more often. I tend to lead conversations and groups, I have a very dominating personality. I have always been a natural leader and speaker and have never felt shy standing up and sharing my opinions. I related a lot to Russo’s experience growing up a very opinionated child, I have never had trouble speaking my mind. It has occasionally gotten me in hot water, like when my mother became incredibly embarrassed when I went on a loud rant in the middle of Target about how the need for women to shave and pay for expensive razors was a created by capitalism and a man trying to make more money. But overall, I came from a hometown that shared a lot of the same views and allowed me to speak freely. Moving to Boise, I am around a lot more diversity and a lot of new opinions. It has been an adjustment, especially when I was living in dorms and surrounded by a very large variety of political opinions. I found myself speaking out a lot more and dominating the conversation over others. 

I began to learn from a number of classes how important it is to step back and let others speak. This helped me gain understanding about opposite opinions of mine, like their reasoning behind it. Not only that, but it helped me learn more about my own ideas. Hearing other people, with similar views and goals as me but with a variety of different experiences, opened up a lot of doors for me. I realized I was not the only one who could be influential and that the people could be much more powerful speakers than I can be sometimes. I realized I was generalizing my own beliefs, that I assumed everyone who was like me had the same reasoning and history behind their views. But I have learned that we do not all fit in the same box and there is so much more to be heard than just my own voice. We can do far more with far more people if we allows others to step up. Sometimes to share our opinion with the world, we need to be silent and let others talk.