Tolerance is a virtue. Unfortunately, it is a virtue I have come to see far less of recently. Conservatives accuse liberals of a lack of tolerance when it comes to the religious right, the South and most conservatives on the whole. Liberals accuse conservatives of this same lack of tolerance towards blacks, homosexuals and liberals. I am not trying to single out particular groups or issues. On the whole, there is a problem. That problem is a lack of tolerance.
Obviously, not all of the people in these groups -- not even most of them -- fit this description, but the number of people who do is growing at a frightening pace. Debate is something we should all welcome, but it should be civil and respectful. It is only by listening to each other that we can acquire a full range of opinions. Reading the Opinion pages of The Dartmouth over the course of my time here, I have become increasingly alarmed at the lack of civility and the inability of my peers to listen to the other side.
In Ilya Feoktistov's op-ed ("Loving the Bomb: How Palestinian Society Glorifies Extremism," Jan. 25), he stated, "I have little hope of changing the minds of people who irrationally support the Palestinian cause. I fear that their ideology makes them blind to reality." I do not want to argue the content of Feoktistov's op-ed, because that is not my focus. However, Feoktistov makes an excellent point: Ideology does make people blind, but I would argue it makes them blind to the arguments of others. Instead of making blanket statements about people who support one cause or another, the important thing is to make your point in a factual and logical basis. Those who are intelligent -- as the vast majority of Dartmouth students are -- will respect that.
I do not mean to sound preachy. I know that there are many times I have not been civil when engaging in debate. I just want to see some progress. We have an opportunity right now to shift debate to a more positive direction. The 2006 election season has yet to heat up, and while our country becomes more divided, we are somewhat separated from those divisions up here in Hanover. Whether you are conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, we all have an interest in seeing that the future is better than the present.
I am reminded of Jon Stewart's appearance on "Crossfire," which essentially ended the show. Stewart politely argued that the show was "hurting America" and had this to say about the show: "What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery."
Stewart was right. Even when it comes to The Dartmouth, "partisan hackery" is everywhere. Do Democrats really believe all the stuff they say? For that matter, do Republicans? Do interest groups? They say it, though, because they feel they have to represent their organization or position. Part of that representation is to disparage the other side as being unintelligent or weak. Even people who are do not hold a partisan viewpoint engage in this type of debate. They do not make "honest arguments," to again quote Jon Stewart. We all are guilty of partisan bashing, but it needs to stop.
Most Dartmouth students are opinionated, driven and absolutely convinced that their views are correct. (Aside from the driven part, I completely put myself in this category.) The problem with these characteristics is they lead to the belittling of the other side. I imagine I am one of the few people on campus to be at meetings both for the Dartmouth Review and for the Young Democrats at some point during my time here, and, needless to say, both sides think very similar things about the other. Neither group is right. Politics -- and life, for that matter -- has a lot of gray and very little black and white. For that reason, while my politics may be conservative on some issues and liberal on others, I do my best not to judge the other side. A lack of understanding completely negates an argument. You cannot truly understand your position until you understand the alternative.
People need to have strongly held beliefs. I know I have them, and I hope everyone who reads this does, too. I do not mean to denounce or show disdain for people with strong opinions. But we are all intelligent, and all capable of showing more tolerance than we currently do.
When I was ten, a friend of mine said to me, "Shut up. Open your eyes and look around. You might learn something." This piece of advice had such an impact that it has stuck with me over the years. It was rudimentary, but it still holds true. You do not have to agree with me -- you just have to listen, and perhaps just think about what I'm saying for a minute. That's tolerance. And that's all I ask for.
