They walk among us…! Whether the liberal majority at UP likes it or not, there are conservatives sitting next to us in our classes, dancing with us at parties and eating with us at the Commons. I myself am part of the liberal majority, however, I feel compelled to advocate for some humanity as I have witnessed lack of perspective in discussions at UP.
Some of my friends, the “closet conservatives,” remain absent from most friendly political conversations and keep quiet in classes. They don’t raise their hands or share their opinions. Most of them, I have learned, are scared of judgment from friends and peers. On the other hand, the rest of my friends, who are left-leaning, are not afraid to raise their hands in class and often lead the political discussions among us. From them, I hear remarks like, “This conservative girl said this in my class today…” or “You won’t believe what this ROTC kid said!” Maybe you’ve made such comments too, as if students expressing their different opinions is an anomaly when it shouldn’t be.
I get it. I don’t agree with their views either, but we can’t pretend like those perspectives didn’t already exist, as if they come from nowhere. If we can’t have these discussions in classrooms, then where can we have them? Certainly not online. Tackling big questions requires human connection.
Beyond the UP bubble, there are millions of people with different beliefs from different backgrounds, many of them are good people. If a UP student from small town, USA is raised thinking a certain way and enters an environment where their entire worldview is not only the minority but is also demonized, how can engagement begin? Good conversations aren’t ones where you can’t get a word in.
What if we flip the script — take a liberal student who always goes with the majority and doesn’t necessarily understand what they believe in because they have never been presented with an opposing opinion from the other side. How can our ideas be challenged? How can we know where we truly stand with a cause? Can we engage in discourse without breeding resentment? In this current atmosphere of liberal elitism, I don’t think we can.
I am not advocating for views of homophobia, misogyny, nor racism. I fear those views, I don’t agree with those views and I actively try to dismantle those views. I am not talking about giving those ideologies a platform. I am talking about heeding caution before we assign “racist” or “bigot” to another because they have ideas that are different from our own. Don’t be angry at people — be angry at the system that divided us in the first place.
Systems of oppression are embedded implicitly into our psyches, and they are deeply rooted in our society. Dismantling these systems of oppression requires discussion and recognizing the humanity among us. Quite frankly, we live in a system that is not benefitting anyone. Dismantling it is a big aspiration we must all work towards together. No, we don’t all agree, but finding solutions requires communication and collaboration. When was the last time you listened to an angry person who views you as an enemy? Now, when was the last time you listened to someone who wants to know where you’re coming from?
If you don’t agree with me, I respect that! Perhaps I have more to learn, so come find me on campus and let’s talk about it as two kind human beings. Nonetheless, I truly believe that part of breaking barriers is recognizing that we are often the ones that put them up in the first place.
It’s uncomfortable, but if we are to make productive change, we must answer the call to find common ground in recognizing we are all the voices of UP.
Jacob Ortiz is a junior at UP. He can be reached at ortiz23@up.edu.
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