The Danger of a Single Story

Wonderful speech.  Insightful, funny.  Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tackles the issue of stereotypes; we're all influenced by them.  The danger, as she points out, is that we need to hear the full story. If all we know of Africa is poverty and AIDS, we're not hearing the full story.  If all anyone knows of America is that we're a bunch of gun-toting cowboys... they're not hearing the full story.  Stereotypes are dangerous.  They lead us down a path of ignorance.  She also points out, though, that it's natural to form them.  Our opinions are shaped by our experiences.  The friends we meet along the way.  The books we read.  The movies and TV shows we watch.  The 5 o'clock news.  We form impressions based on what we think we know. 

The world is far more complex than any one story...