The Price of Admission

For those of us of a certain age, we were taught the path to harmony was tolerance, to just leave each other alone and “tolerate” another’s presence. Then came the movement towards acceptance. Sadly, the entry price for acceptance for those of us on the outer is ‘exceptionalism’. How often have we seen someone outside the majority being accepted only when they achieve a measure of brilliance (read: “you are one of the good ones” or “you are so articulate”). The half that’s often unsaid is “for a _______” and fill in the blank of whichever group has been cast as the ‘other’.

The mainstream culture of acceptance says you’re only one of us when you prove yourself. But the hallmark of a healthy community is when we can gather together with joy, not despite our differences, but enriched because of them.

Two weeks ago, we held our annual Wayside’s Got Talent night, and it once again reminded us of our mission. Singing, magic, dancing, and comedy—on beat, in tune or otherwise—giving everyone a glimpse of what life could and should be like.

There were original tunes, inventive covers, clowns in rhinestone bikinis, group performances, solos and everything in between.

Someone grabbed me this week: “Everyone was so jealous about how good I was up there, Jonny, that no one is even talking about it!” You know what? In that moment, watching him shine with the absence of doubt, I couldn’t help but doubt my own doubts about what’s possible. Perhaps that’s the real talent on display: not the performance itself, but the permission to believe that we are enough—no exceptionalism required, no entry price to pay.

Here’s to moving beyond ‘tolerating’ or ‘accepting’ to celebrating our differences.

Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,