The Straight Line: The meaning of Pride
As a staff member, I’m not eligible for the essay contest QSaltLake has sponsored, but I thought this issue was the appropriate venue to discuss my thoughts regarding Pride and its meaning.
Dictionary.com defines pride as: A becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one’s position or character; self-respect; self-esteem.
That definition, in my humble opinion, characterizes exactly what the Pride Festival is all about. This is an event focused on recognizing the value of each person’s individuality and embracing diversity.
Human beings have a tendency to cluster into groups with similar backgrounds, languages, cultures, beliefs and other characteristics. Over time, these characteristics lead to fear and mistrust of things or people that are in some way different. Pride is a fantastic way to bridge the gaps and acknowledge that while we all may have different characteristics, at the end of the day we’re all just human beings, trapped together on this floating rock in space.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to observe a bit of that pride first hand. I attended Operation Shine America’s National Shine Night event at the Utah Pride Center. OSA is an organization dedicated to shining light on the increasingly dangerous plight of homeless youth in our nation. They provide outreach, counseling, and advocacy for homeless youth across America, more than 40 percent of whom identify as queer.
On May 14, 2011, OSA’s event brought together business people, activists, community resource partners and homeless youth around the United States to share their stories and experiences. Here in Salt Lake City we heard from a variety of speakers, all with first-hand experience of homelessness and the abuse and isolation that stems from it.
I listened to these people relay their experiences, how they fought to overcome the barriers and obstacles while all the time maintaining their fundamental integrity, their right to be who they are, their self-respect, their Pride.
These people conveyed to me the true meaning of pride. Pride is being proud of who you are and what you stand for. Pride is refusing to submit yourself to someone else’s interpretation of who and what you should be, and accepting other people on those same terms. Pride is authenticity, allowing yourself to shine.
This to me is the meaning of pride. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe, just be you and be proud of it. Understand that while we are all of the same race (humankind), we all have differences that should not only be respected, but embraced and encouraged. Our diversity makes us a stronger community; it gives us the opportunity to experience a different perspective, to see things from another point of view.
The Pride Festival can be fairly flamboyant and even a bit raunchy, but it is, more than anything else, a great opportunity for people to showcase their individuality. More importantly, however, it is an opportunity for all of us to embrace that diversity, to respect that individuality, and perhaps to take a lesson or two back into our own lives. That is what pride means to me.