2008 Woodie Awards
Leaning to the Left
Josh Justice
Issue date: 9/25/02 Section: Commentary
Take Rev. Jesse Jackson: his speech was delivered solidly and I even found myself nodding my head along with his points. But if I was offered a choice between listening to Rev. Jackson speak, a man whose politics and commitment to social justice and progress I support, or to listen to a prominent conservative leader such as Charlton Heston, whose life and talent I admire but politics I abhor, I would take the latter. I already know why we should not attack Iraq, why we should preserve the Artic wildlife refuge and why five-year-olds with semi-automatic weapons are a bad idea, yet I am dying to hear why the Republican Party is so adamant on those issues. The points a Republican speaker could make would broaden the basis of discussion and thought that could be derived from the speakers that arrive on campus.
The Lecture Fund, a great organization that stalks down and drags prominent figures to lecture in front of half-drunk college students, needs to broaden the scope of its speakers. Now, in my defense, I do realize that the initial burst of speakers that come to campus are not at a representation of the views that will be presented throughout the year. Yet new students, by and large the ones still eager enough to go and watch the speakers in the first place, have been blindsided by liberal views in the past few weeks. For instance, Dr. Julianne Malveaux’s NSO speech could be summed up: “You are all a bunch of rich little white boys and girls.” And though I agree with many of the points that she made, I have several friends that were fairly offended by her initial comments and approach.
The Lecture Fund and other nonpartisan organizations that bring speakers to campus need to focus not just on what most of this campus may agree with, but also to challenge and contend with the status quo. As Confucius said, we must learn not only from those we admire but also from those people in which we see faults beyond repair. So for everyone out there that would picket and march out in force against someone with a conflicting viewpoint, this is my advice: shut up, sit down and listen. You might realize you are not so perfect after all.
Justice is a foreign service freshman.
The Lecture Fund, a great organization that stalks down and drags prominent figures to lecture in front of half-drunk college students, needs to broaden the scope of its speakers. Now, in my defense, I do realize that the initial burst of speakers that come to campus are not at a representation of the views that will be presented throughout the year. Yet new students, by and large the ones still eager enough to go and watch the speakers in the first place, have been blindsided by liberal views in the past few weeks. For instance, Dr. Julianne Malveaux’s NSO speech could be summed up: “You are all a bunch of rich little white boys and girls.” And though I agree with many of the points that she made, I have several friends that were fairly offended by her initial comments and approach.
The Lecture Fund and other nonpartisan organizations that bring speakers to campus need to focus not just on what most of this campus may agree with, but also to challenge and contend with the status quo. As Confucius said, we must learn not only from those we admire but also from those people in which we see faults beyond repair. So for everyone out there that would picket and march out in force against someone with a conflicting viewpoint, this is my advice: shut up, sit down and listen. You might realize you are not so perfect after all.
Justice is a foreign service freshman.