Standing By CP

 

Standing By CP

               David Sedaris authored Standing By in an attempt to persuade people to change how they think and behave. That is the reason he wrote this story. He wants his readers and others to not be so judgmental. We, for whatever reason are judgmental people. We have the tendency to judge others in spite of the fact that we may not know anything personal about the people we judge. We do it everywhere we go; whether it’s waiting in line at the bank, in the grocery store, sitting in traffic, or sitting in class, we do it all the time. Maybe it’s because we live in a capitalist society where we are rewarded on being better than everyone else. Maybe we do it because it’s a biological instinct that we just have no control over. Or maybe we judge others on preconceived stereotypes, because we feel better about ourselves when we do. Whatever the reason, David Sedaris makes this tendency the backbone of his short story Standing By. He makes this the controlling purpose of his story because he no longer wants people to think this way. He wants people to judge themselves before they think about judging others, because in his eyes, we are equal. It’s not a bad idea. It’s certainly the direction our country is heading in, which I believe is for the best.