Why Your Personal Experience Matters
As many in my life know, I spent most of my high school career competing in speech and debate. The event I competed in most often was called U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking, a limited-preparation event where you draw questions about domestic issues each round. Once drawn, you have 30 minutes to prepare a memorized, 5–7 minute speech answering the question with sources. Like any typical speech, extemp always included a witty intro, 3 body points, and an meaningful conclusion. But what extemp drilled into me more than anything else, was that sources reign supreme. You can have as many opinions as you’d like, but for you to win the competition you have to skillfully back these up with facts, statistics, and direct quotes from news articles. Additionally, you had to always utilize the right sources. There were only certain news and polling outlets our coaches wanted us to use because to the audience, these sources sounded reputable. Extemp was not the only event that reiterated this type of data-heavy argument. Every other debate form I competed in (Congressional, Lincoln-Douglass, Policy) emphasized having comprehensive amounts of sources at the ready.
After years spent in this type of thinking, I became obsessed with having stats and other empirical forms of data at the ready any time someone wanted to question my opinions.
This trend, this obsession with objective evidence is not just limited to me and my debate experiences either. From a young age, we are taught the Scientific Method. This line of reasoning, built mostly for the hard and natural sciences, tells us that in order to claim something, we have to use numerical, objective research to back it up.
In middle or high school, we first learn how to write a major paper or a research essay. This is the 3-pronged thesis: intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. We learn about implementing citations by supporting our thesis through research. Again, we come to a point where we’re asked to only use objective research to support our claims and theses.
The need for objective data is never more salient than during a Presidential Election. With opinions flying around, both on and off Facebook, people are looking for clarity. In the madness that is human perspective, people find great comfort in numbers and objective data. I am as susceptible as anyone. When I tell people who I support, I like to have some pocket statistics ready. I like having specific examples to cite in case a counterargument breaks out. My inner debater constantly nags at me to always have sources at the ready, that I could not possibly survive in this intellectual battlefield without hard, objective Truths.
But are numbers, statistics, and other forms of empirical data the only form of Truth?
When Philando Castile was shot four times on Wednesday, July 6th, the black community mourned yet again for an innocent life taken too soon. However this shooting was different from many, as Castile’s girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, captured the entire sinister encounter. She streamed the video live on Facebook, where she evoked an entire community, worldwide, in a matter of seconds. The graphic video depicts Reynolds’ struggle with the police force, as her boyfriend lay beside her, dead. She narrates most of the video, the panic in her tone all-too tangible.
She weeps, “They shot him four times. He’s licensed to carry. We had a busted tail light. And we had some weed in the car that’s about it.”
Even in the midst of the graphic video, people kept watching. People shared. People reacted. One viewer commented, “Don’t stop recording.”
We stand at a pivotal point in American history where we, the common citizen, have a voice. We are the history-makers. With our words, from a 140-character tweet to a Story such as this, we can spread ideas instantaneously. Especially with the rise of Periscope and Facebook Live, what were once isolated incidents are now blatant displays of injustice that serve as rallying points. For the most part, Gatekeepers in the media are gone as public opinion guides what is and is not trending. Reverend Gregory Drumwright, a Black Lives Matter demonstrator in D.C. puts it simply: “Society has a body camera…the whole world is watching what I see.”
What’s fascinating is that at no point did we completely deny that intolerance and injustice just ceased existing. Statistics tell us that black men
are more likely to be incarcerated, arrested, and shot by police; we’ve known this data for decades. The key difference is now the fact that we have visual evidence; we have stories to guide us.
We could have kept analyzing statistics about police conduct and black men for ages, but it still would not relay the urgency and pain that the black community is feeling. This empirical data could never convey the level of discrimination faced by black Americans on a daily basis. It is not until we hear and see what the black community, as one example, is experiencing that we can let our hearts be stirred by these injustices.
It is more important than ever to tell our stories. Not only that, but to be actively listening to the stories, experiences, and journeys of others. People will argue that America is better off than it used to be, which it definitely is, but this is a time where we have the opportunity to dismantle oppression in our nation for all. Oppression manifests itself in less violent ways than it did historically, but that does not mean it has disappeared. Oppression is multifaceted and deeply rooted into our cultural institutions. It has been learned and buried within each and every one of us. It is not something that can be undone by our own efforts. Dismantling oppression necessitates that we listen to personal experiences because the Truths that constitute our social reality are embedded in these vivid tales. Additionally, we have to be willing to tell our stories too.
We are living, breathing testaments to both the successes and hardships that define the human experience.
Although speech and debate mainly consists of events that rely on hard evidence to fuel arguments, there is one event that stands as the exception: Original Oratory (OO). In this event, students write an 8–10 minute speech about anything, however the topics usually have to do with social awareness and social justice. Although OO performers are pretty much required to use some empirical data in their speech, they do not shy away from highlighting their own personal experiences. Better yet, their stories and experiences become the vehicles that drive the entire message forward. OO exemplifies the idea that your story is significant because only you can offer your unique blend of perspectives.
Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest orators of the 20th century, did not inspire thousands because he rattled off numbers about how whites were oppressing blacks. He used his experience in the church and as a black southerner to show that his hurt was real, and that it gave him the tools to lead the nation into a new, post-racial era. Without telling his story, and telling it so passionately, he may have never made the profound impact on American history that he did so eloquently.
“We forget people as people”, declares 2014 OO National Champion Andrea Ambam. Ambam points out our society’s flaw in ignoring the power of personal stories. If we are to see others as equals and to truly treat them as equals, then we must fundamentally understand that we are all human. Within that, we must understand that our fellow humans have lived, breathed, and seen things that we can’t imagine. That’s not to say we don’t have insight as individuals as well, because we do, but the empathy component must start by a mutual understanding of lived experiences.
This is not to say there is no place for empirical data and statistics. As an ex-debater, I still see the immense value in supporting your claims this way. I’m not advising using a personal tale as a source in your next term paper or annual report. But blindly worshipping numbers keeps us in line with the status quo. Because we see numbers and empiricism as the only path to Truth, we refuse to question them. With stories, we have the liberty to interpret, question, and enjoy. People tell stories, therefore we have the unique opportunity to ask them for further information or ask others for their perspective. Stories are alive, and for that reason they are sources of vast information.
Even if Truth isn’t your ultimate objective, realize that, in fact, stories matter.
