Dictating Rationality
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to cause controversy
wherever he goes. Max Bryer '08
already gave us an analysis of the Iranian leader's
visit to the United Nations ("An Impotent U.N. and
a Big Dictator," Oct. 4), but even more controversial
was the decision by Columbia to invite him
to their ivory tower for a less than amiable chat.
Thousands of protestors and counter-protestors
descended upon the campus, New York State
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver threatened
to limit Columbia's financial aid, and hopeless
presidential candidate Rep. Duncan Hunter, RCalif.,
proposed cutting off federal funding to the
school altogether. These sentiments are shared
by many Columbia students and alumni (some of
whom have pledged to withhold future donations
from the school). But are they well founded? By
inviting Ahmadinejad, did Columbia really give
him intellectual legitimacy and a platform from
which he could spew his hate as some have
claimed? Of course not.
First, as a university, Columbia is in the business
of idea exchange. At its root, university
education is about exposing students to diverse
opinions, even those deemed objectively wrong,
for the purpose of learning. The truth should be
such a powerful reality that in the free marketplace
of ideas, it will triumph. Dictating what is
acceptable to think or say under the bounds of
free speech only serves to hinder this process.
Second, there is no additional legitimacy that
a speaking engagement at Columbia can bestow
upon Ahmadinejad that he has not already earned
by virtue of his power as the democratically
elected president of Iran. He is a world leader,
and, like it or not, he is an increasingly powerful
force in a vital and unstable part of the world.
Ignoring him will not cause him to go away, and
hearing him speak does not compel listeners to
believe what he says.
Third, any opportunity for a college to host a
sitting head of state is important and rare, but this
one was especially so. The cable news media has
toed the Bush administration's line against Iran,
and Fox News even went so far on a recent "Hannity
and Colmes" to discuss the viability of various
military scenarios against the Islamic Republic.
Increasingly high-ranking politicians have been
calling for military action on news shows largely
without counterpoint. Ahmadinejad's speech,
broadcast live from Columbia, essentially gave
him the first opportunity to speak directly to the
American public. In providing a venue for this
exchange, Columbia not only raised the level of
discourse,but became part of a historic event.
If there was anything I took away from
what Ahmadinejad actually said, it was that
the news media's perception of him is largely
sensationalized. Nowhere did I see the crazed,
foaming-at-the-mouth lunatic I was promised. In
fact if anyone seemed sensible during the whole
production it was Ahmadinejad. Lee Bollinger,
Columbia president and the man responsible for
inviting the Iranian leader, spent his 15-minute
attack of an introduction wishing defeat to the Ahmadinejad's
political party, labeling him a "cruel
and brutal dictator" and demanding answers to
nine separate questions, accusing him that he
would lack the courage to do so. Ahmadinejad
simply brushed Bollinger aside and made him
look foolish by saying, "In Iran... we actually
respect our students enough to allow them to
make their own judgment, and don't think it's
necessary before the speech is even given to
come in with a series of complaints to provide
vaccination to the students and faculty." Clearly,
Mahmoud is not stupid.
Even when pressed on his reasons for stating
that the Holocaust -- the most documented event
in human history -- required more research
(presumably in order to deny it), Ahmadinejad
showed his mental prowess. He coolly responded
that no subject should be closed to changing views
or further investigation, citing adaptations in long
held theories in mathematics as an example. It
is a brilliant point, even if made with dubious
intentions, because Newtonian physics was considered
for a long time to completely explain the
universe, but if all research was stopped at that
level we would have never discovered Quantum
physics and all the branches of science that stem
from it. To deny that Ahmadinejad has his wits
about him may make for interesting television,
but rather ineffective foreign policy.
I thank the university administrators who had
the conviction to withstand public pressure and
not only afford their own students, but all students,
the chance to hear and see different sides
in the web of international relations. Columbia,
you have done the Ivy League proud.
