sawsaw Derrida

After reading this article, my whole definition of the word "Difference" changed. I had always assumed that difference was something that wasn’t the same and abnormal, know I realize that difference cannot be defined by just one thing but is a collect of ideas put together. Derrida writes on page 123, “Already we had to not that difference is not, does not exist, and is not any sort of being-present.” He is saying that difference is not a being-present. It cannot be contained or defined. The quote that spoke to me the most is on page 124, “The other sense of “to differ” is the most common and most identifiable, the sense of not being identical, of being other, of being discernible, ect.” This definition of difference is most evident in today’s society. Everyone wants to be different. If someone has a different opinion or feeling about something it is accepted. I often hear the quote, “What’s good for me might not be what’s good for you.” People accept different and some people and organizations strive off difference. For a product to be successful in today’s culture it must offer something different, something the consumer hasn’t seen before. In today's society, people are admired for being different or exotic.

I learned a lot from this essay by Derrida and have found it be very truthful in our culture. The question I am left with after reading the essay is how the same people who define "normalcy" in our society are the same people who are accepting "difference?"