Spring Break
'Tolerance' no longer synonym for 'relativism'
Joel Pavelski
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Opinion
Everyone's a friggin' critic.
I mean, I can be judgmental. I usually label everyone I meet, just to make future interactions simpler.
A few months ago, I'd decided that everyone was like me, and that Hillsdale was a Hogwarts-like institution with an imaginary sorting hat, shoving people towards cheering groups labeled "jock" "smoker" or "too religious for their own good." At the time, I might have agreed with Claire's piece from last week's Collegian.
Then I was surprised by my sister, who is in my mind the arbiter of reason, kindness and grace. She agreed with me, kind of.
"Sure there are polarized factions at Hillsdale," she said, "but one of them is right."
In a way, she was correct, but incomplete.
She's right in saying that truth isn't dependent on opinion. It's static and unchangeable, and it disregards cultural and chronological differences. So if there are differences of opinion between groups, it follows that one of them has to be right.
It's here that Claire's conception of tolerance falls short of sufficient.
The problem is this: Groups will declare their opinions as infallible, conveniently excluding discussion with the opposition.
Tolerance. Diversity. Acceptance. These words are overused and misunderstood. They've become modern buzzwords, centered on relativism, but their true definition involves discussion and respect.
Does tolerance mean we lynch those with differing beliefs, or that we're not allowed to address those beliefs at all?
Tolerance, diversity, and acceptance do not imply the idea that principles or truth should be changeable or individualistic, but that people are in different places on their road to discovering what those principles are and why they believe them. When you declare that your way is the highway, you're running other travelers off the road to the same destination.
I've been surprised by people at Hillsdale from day one. I haven't met a real jerk yet. I've learned how and why I should respect their beliefs and listen to their opinions. I hope people feel the same way about me - and are surprised that someone so easily stereotyped isn't what they'd expected.
Try extending your consideration of character to beliefs. Differing beliefs don't always exist in others as a challenge to your own. Remember that at any point you might have something to learn from someone you previously wrote off.
We're students, so let's decipher how to learn from our schoolmates. We can agree to find the truth, instead of being stagnated by pretended tolerance. I'll trust you enough to admit that I could be wrong. Heck, this article could be hooey. But I expect you to tell me why. If you do, admitting that you could also be wrong, you're experiencing real learning. It's a discussion, a journey, and an important one. It's also the correct definition of tolerance. Let's venture out into it as friends.
Let's show that there are no separate sides to Hillsdale - no smokers, fundies, jocks, or agnostics. Let's just be Hillsdale. That's unity. That's the point.
I mean, I can be judgmental. I usually label everyone I meet, just to make future interactions simpler.
A few months ago, I'd decided that everyone was like me, and that Hillsdale was a Hogwarts-like institution with an imaginary sorting hat, shoving people towards cheering groups labeled "jock" "smoker" or "too religious for their own good." At the time, I might have agreed with Claire's piece from last week's Collegian.
Then I was surprised by my sister, who is in my mind the arbiter of reason, kindness and grace. She agreed with me, kind of.
"Sure there are polarized factions at Hillsdale," she said, "but one of them is right."
In a way, she was correct, but incomplete.
She's right in saying that truth isn't dependent on opinion. It's static and unchangeable, and it disregards cultural and chronological differences. So if there are differences of opinion between groups, it follows that one of them has to be right.
It's here that Claire's conception of tolerance falls short of sufficient.
The problem is this: Groups will declare their opinions as infallible, conveniently excluding discussion with the opposition.
Tolerance. Diversity. Acceptance. These words are overused and misunderstood. They've become modern buzzwords, centered on relativism, but their true definition involves discussion and respect.
Does tolerance mean we lynch those with differing beliefs, or that we're not allowed to address those beliefs at all?
Tolerance, diversity, and acceptance do not imply the idea that principles or truth should be changeable or individualistic, but that people are in different places on their road to discovering what those principles are and why they believe them. When you declare that your way is the highway, you're running other travelers off the road to the same destination.
I've been surprised by people at Hillsdale from day one. I haven't met a real jerk yet. I've learned how and why I should respect their beliefs and listen to their opinions. I hope people feel the same way about me - and are surprised that someone so easily stereotyped isn't what they'd expected.
Try extending your consideration of character to beliefs. Differing beliefs don't always exist in others as a challenge to your own. Remember that at any point you might have something to learn from someone you previously wrote off.
We're students, so let's decipher how to learn from our schoolmates. We can agree to find the truth, instead of being stagnated by pretended tolerance. I'll trust you enough to admit that I could be wrong. Heck, this article could be hooey. But I expect you to tell me why. If you do, admitting that you could also be wrong, you're experiencing real learning. It's a discussion, a journey, and an important one. It's also the correct definition of tolerance. Let's venture out into it as friends.
Let's show that there are no separate sides to Hillsdale - no smokers, fundies, jocks, or agnostics. Let's just be Hillsdale. That's unity. That's the point.
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