Message in the Children’s Hour rings true
This weekend, I attended Little Country Theatre’s production of Lillian Hellman’s “The Children’s Hour.”
I don’t want to give too much of the plot away to those who have not yet seen it, but I will say it deals with the damage a 14-year-old student does to two of her teachers by spreading a rumor that they are lesbian lovers.
While the development of the story leads the viewer to wonder if perhaps the rumor had a hint of truth to it, the play isn’t about lesbianism, but about the injustice two good women suffer at the hands of a spiteful teenager.
The program quoted Hellman as saying, “Since when do we have to agree with people to defend them from injustice?”
Hellman’s words echo one of my deepest and longest-held views on how people should be treated.
I will admit I have no idea where I stand on the issue of gay marriage. My upbringing and my experiences in college offer me very conflicted ideas on the subject.
What I do know is that every person deserves to be treated with dignity simply because he or she is a human being, regardless of whether you agree with that person’s beliefs, behavior or lifestyle.
I know several gays and lesbians who I think are great people and who I consider friends.
I decided awhile ago I wanted to get to know them as human beings and appreciate them for who they are rather than try to figure out whether or not I agree with them. I feel I have learned a lot because of that.
The same goes for people with religious beliefs different from mine.
At this point in my life, I do not subscribe to any one established belief system.
Even so, it really bothers me hearing other people bash an entire religion and its followers. I might not see myself becoming Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist or any other religion any time soon, but I do know that many people who are members of those religions hold their beliefs very dear and want others to respect their choices.
Rather than putting certain people into a neat little category called “People I disagree with” or “People who I am not sure I agree with but need to figure out before I have anything further to do with them,” why not view everyone simply as a person who might be worth getting to know?
Our educational system is making efforts to teach people to be more open-minded and accepting of others.
For the most part, this is a good thing. However, it sometimes seems to me that this movement pushes people to automatically accept all ideas as right.
To me, being truly open-minded means knowing where you stand on an issue but still being able to respect someone else’s decision to completely disagree with you.
To defend someone against injustice even when you completely disagree with that person shows great strength of character. Yet it is something that all people should be doing whenever the need arises.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum