I have just finished reading “Just an Ordinary Day: The Uncollected Stories” by Shirley Jackson, and something occurred to me.
This novel was a collection of published and unpublished short stories that Shirley Jackson’s family found and allowed to be published. One thing that stuck out to me was the nature of the situations and common themes that were prevalent during her lifetime.
Many of the stories featured details of the lives of women from that time period, and it struck me that we are still entrenched in some of those same archaic beliefs.
Shirley Jackson lived during the 1950s and 1960s, an era when many women were housewives. Reading her stories let me into the past: how people thought, things they believed, their clothes, and their actions.
I noticed that many of her stories featured strict decorum and judgment of others for not conforming or for being different. This led me to look into movies and other literature from that time period. I detected a common theme. As a society, we have taken pride in our ability to be programmed. Another way of putting it is that we have made “fitting in” a societal standard.
Think “American Dream.” We have built our way of life around traditions, and anyone who does not conform to these traditions is viewed as being inferior. We’ve made some concessions, but the mindset is still stuck on fearing difference.
Why does racism still exist? Fear and tradition. Sexism- Fear and tradition. Classism, colorism, ageism, ableism, and homophobia: we fear what we don’t understand and refuse to understand based on the historical context of traditions.
It’s easy to ignore or hate something that is not like you, but why would you invest the energy? No one can meet the standards of our traditions. We are all different and should be appreciated for who we are, not how well we can fit into a rigid box.
This is a call to action. The next time you find yourself judging someone for their difference or lack of societal conformity, ask yourself if the world would fall apart or end because this person is different, and if there is harm to you or the world in this person not fitting in.
Look Within 