An Experiment in Moral Imagination

By Rachel Revelle

Happy Friday all! If I can persuade your weekend plans in any way, I absolutely recommend you go see Me Too Monologues tonight or tomorrow, 7:30pm in Nelson Music Room.  The Kenan Institute supported the event through a Campus Grant (by the way, spring applications are due by February 15!), so I was invited to attend the opening show last night. I knew it was a landmark Duke event, but I was absolutely blown away—by the personal narratives that people were brave enough to share, by the phenomenal acting, and by the peer support that was made clear by the audience’s enthusiasm.

Without giving too much away, I will say that certain facets of identity were unlocked and explored, not only for the authors or performers, but also for each of us sharing in their stories. The purpose of the Campus Grants program is to promote ethical reflection, deliberation, and dialogue at Duke and beyond. Based on the snippets I heard walking out of the performance last night, and the passionate conversations I’ve had with several people today, that goal was met in all three of its parts.

Some of the issues were things I have previously thought would not really affect me, or maybe could not possibly enter my realm of identity. But the explanation poured out through the emotion and candor of each monologue made me experience what it might actually be like to be that person, to have that identity, to live in those shoes. It was devastating; it was uplifting; it was a tremendous experiment in moral imagination.