1, November 2007 The Good Body, Eve Ensler What's in a Name?
Matt Doherty Response Paper #10
Ignoring something doesn't make it go away. Just ask Eve Ensler. For 20 years, she kept memories of her abusive father locked away, never speaking of them. It killed her. She was depressed and miserable. Then one day, after all those years, she told her mother the unspeakable acts her father perpetrated onto her. It was like a burden was lifted from her shoulders she was relieved and pure again. Like she says in her piece "The Power and Mystery of Naming Things," found on her website, the naming of the acts had "lifted my 20-year depression. By remaining silent, I had muted my experience, denied it, and pushed it down. This had flattened my entire life. I believe it was this moment of naming that allowed both my and mother I to eventually face our deepest demons and deceptions and become free." Much can be learned from an experience like Eve Ensler's. Especially in today's society where "political correctness" abounds and censorship is rampant, it is important to voice how one really feels about a certain subject or situation they are faced with. Certainly, today, a hot button topic is crisis in the environment. If we choose to ignore this pressing matter, like Ensler did with her abuses, we will suffer equally damaging consequences. Our planet will be overrun with water, and will almost certainly change our lifestyles in ways that we cannot even imagine. Hopefully, we can avoid these consequences by acting now before it is too late. Only then will we avoid the course that we are headed at the present moment.