Nicol over at
The War Room, wrote an terrific post today. Do go over and read the entire thing (I'll wait). I was going to leave a comment, but it became rather long-winded and I decided to write a post about it instead.
Nicol poses an important question:
My question is, to those of you with strong beliefs, do you find it easy to be friends with people whose beliefs are polar opposite to your own?
I don't mean friendly or on nice speaking terms. I mean friends who share deep experiences with each other.The conversation turns to the news of his soon-to-be born daughter:
We seek to baptize our child Catholic. Can one invite [his friends] the academic or the pagan to the baptism when you know they have communicated to you that they see the faith as a form of oppression and hate?
Take the flip side; if one really believes the war in Iraq is about nothing but oil and greed and oppression of other people, how can that person be good friends with someone who is for it?
Unless of course you conclude the opposing side is just ignorant, misinformed and stupid...which is of course just as problematic. I feel like I am at a bit of a turning point in my life as we prepare for our daughter to be born.
And that is my question. I truly believe one should seek out many diverse friends to have with differing views and beliefs. But realistically, in the arts, I do not have that many conservative, Christian or Catholic friends.You are not alone in your sentiments. I feel that way a lot.
I got away from Sociology and decided to do a Masters in public policy. The simple reason was, in Sociology, there was only one way of (allowed) thinking. I will never forget the time when in an Analysis of Social Policy class (this was around the beer and popcorn incident) when I raised the possibility/questioned whether it was in the government's role/responsibility to provide child care as social policy. I was basically laughed at by my colleagues, and tsk-tsked by the prof for thinking in the "status quo".
In a classroom, why must I hide under a shield of saying that I'm "playing devil's advocate"? Because, I would have no friends in university.
Switching gears in academic fields was the best thing that happened to me, but I truly wish there was more diversity of opinion. My public policy degree requires courses in economics, statistics and politics, and thus it does not allow students to fly by on just an arts degree. Perhaps I was naive to think that this would create an environment where students who see things in more than one political colour.
On my first week of class this January, two out of three profs poked fun at our current PM. They don't dare name "him" though, they says "our current government" and give a frowned look when referring to poverty, environment etc...
I do feel alone. I cringe in a classroom when we talk about "global warming"/"climate change" and how profs and colleagues refer to the opposite side as "climate change deniers." I finally spoke up this week in class (but was cautious not to make myself the guilty party) and said "climate change deniers" is inaccurate as many of them acknowledge that climate changes, which is their very point. I wish I had had the courage to add, "if you would actually being a little open-minded and actually read/listened to the other side, instead of belittling it, you would know that." How ignorant of my prof (and most of Canadian/MSM) to call them "climate change deniers" (only because the language changed from 'global warming' to 'climate change') when they aren't even denying that climate changes! It is precisely their point that it does change!
Outside of the classroom I go out with friends, but I can't say that there is any one person to whom I feel particularly close. Like you Nicol, I have very few conservative friends.
Blogging, which Nicol was my inspiration to start, in the BT community actually makes me feel less alone. I've neglected blogging the past 6 months because I am trying to distance myself from the childish "Celine Dion/Dijon" vocabulary and genuinely try to blog from a non-partisan perspective. I even considered leaving the BT. However, in this time in my life right now, this is where I fit in.
The past three years I have grown considerably. I have made 4 realizations in my early 20s:
1. "Tolerance" means 'think like me' (and secretly criticize and/or dismiss any opposing view)
2. Inequity is not only a reality, but not necessarily all bad
3. Being "open-minded" apparently does not include (big C) Conservative/(small l)liberal ideas
4. Being a "critical thinker" apparently means to abide by #3 at all times.
Nicol, you talk a lot about the baby-boomer generation. You sound a lot like my partner who is a Gen Xer. I'm Gen Y, and I'm even more worried for my spoiled-spoon-fed generation.
