Weekly Blog Post 1

"Women do not always have to write about women, or gay men about gay men. Indeed, something good and new might happen if they did not." --Kathryn Hughes

This quote stood out to me because it expresses the importance of getting to know the differences of the people around us. I fully agree with what Kathryn Hughes is saying in this statement. How will we ever learn if we always stay within ourselves? How will we become better people if we know nothing about the other people among whom we live? I love diversity in people and in ideas, and I believe that living in America we have no choice but to embrace it. The purpose of this quote by Hughes is to suggest that we should write about people and things unfamiliar to ourselves, forcing us to learn about and become familiar with these different qualities and aspects of the people who make up our society. I think that this knowledge will help us all to better connect, leading to more effective communication and understanding of each other. Although Hughes only mentions two subgroups of people in this quote, she is addressing all people who choose writing as a means of expression as her audience. More than the knowledge acquired by the broad-minded writer in his research and writing of the unfamiliar people or topic, knowledge and awareness will be spread to the other people who read this person's work, causing an on-going chain of knowledge, awareness, and action. This quote can also be looked at from a different, less socially concerned perspective. Even if the writer is simply composing a brief English paper about a topic of his own choosing, it will do him better to write about something he knows little of; rather than his favorite sport or how his favorite dish is prepared. This will force him to research and learn something new, and hopefully grow to admire this newly-discovered material. In conclusion, we should all continuously be learning something new. We will become more effective communicators and all-around greater members of society; not to mention, we will all become a little bit smarter in doing so... :)