Personal Social Challenge Essay
We often face social situations where we are not in the comfort zone because our principles differ from those that the majority seems to be holding. In such cases, one can either go with the flow and hold their tongue, or be sincere and open-minded, challenging the others, but most importantly, themselves. Unless the matter is trivial, it is better to do the latter, because the discomfort of the challenge contributes to personal growth and can lead to interesting discussions.
As an example, I recall a family dinner with older relatives, many of whom are conservatives. My parents, who are centrist, tend to avoid any contentious topics, and this conversation was one-sided as well. I engaged in a debate with my aunt’s husband about the importance of respecting people’s feelings, especially when they are justified by historical atrocities, and cited a relevant news story that I watched on TYT. The man, who is Armenian, started swearing at TYT and dismissed my argument, stating that the channel, the full name of which is The Young Turks, is named after a genocidal group, which I said was a lie.
When I challenged him to prove his accusation, he just angrily ended the conversation. I searched for any information about that matter on the internet and found out that, indeed, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by a group called The Young Turks about a hundred years ago, and many countries, including the U.S.A., officially recognize it as a genocide. But I also found the statement by the anchors of the channel distancing themselves from the original organization.
When I returned to the table, I spoke to this man again and thanked him. Surprisingly, he also thanked me, as he said that he realized that I was right about my initial point that feelings were important, as was seen from his example. I made the conclusion that challenging people is very important because it can be an instructive moment for …
