This TED speech made me think of my life as while listening to Chimamanda I realized that I have a single story point of view on too many things. As an example, I have a story that resembles those personal stories Chimamanda refers to. For a long time I had a very clear idea (as I thought) of Muslims and their lifestyle and I was also sure that Muslim countries all live according to Sharia. When I had a chance to travel to Turkey (and for some reason I always considered this country to be the heart of Islam) I was really surprised to see ninety percent of women worn in western type of cloths on streets of Istanbul. Friend of mine (her name is Ezgi) whom I first met there told me that being born in Istanbul she was a Christian and that there are actually a lot of Christians and representatives of other religions besides Islam living in Turkey. Ezgi was shocked to hear that I expected to see streets full of women in burqas and men looking suspiciously at tourists who do not wear them. And I could not believe that she (being unmarried Turkish girl) was traveling around the world alone and visiting night clubs every Friday. That was a single story of Turkey I had in my mind, the story of strict traditional society, which appeared to be totally untrue.
I decided to reconsider every single prejudice I have that may be based on single story no matter how long it will take. Because these stereotypes can not just offend other people but also present you as a narrow-minded person. Single story is not better than a rumor and rumors are not something I would like to be involved in.
Moreover, information presented to people in the form of single story may be very successfully used against them as we know that nowadays information is probably the most powerful weapon (especially in politics, mass media etc.)
I think that the reason why we allow ourselves to be misled by single stories too often is because it is much easier to listen to only one story and believe it than to listen to few stories and analyze where truth is hidden. But it is important to remember to switch on helicopter (not tunnel) view as it may help to see new horizons and opportunities in life.
Works Cited
TED. " Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story." Online video clip.YouTube. YouTube, 7 Oct. 2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
