Why giving ‘evil’ people a chance to speak may be good
Posted on October 1, 2007
Columbia University is facing an onslaught of criticism for extending that power to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a man former House Speaker Newt Gingrich considers to be this century’s version of Adolf Hitler.
Last week, protestors showed up at the university in droves, carrying with them signs covered with cleverly coined phrases and diabolical depictions of the Iranian “dictator.” Not only did the residents of New York take their feelings to the street, they also took them to their representatives. According to New York State Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, the state government is considering reducing funding for Columbia as a result of this incident.
While many have been quick to condemn Columbia for providing Ahmadinejad with a forum to share his anti-American and anti-Semitic viewpoints, I would like to congratulate the university for having the courage to do what our government and our media often fail to do — expose us to the pure unadulterated truth.
It is no secret that much of what goes on in the world of politics remains a secret. This is largely in part because our government’s refusal to give definitive answers and our media’s tendency to pander to the tastes of the general public.
As a result, the nightly news does not inform us of the American death toll in Iraq and fails to enlighten us as to what our friends and family are over there dying for. It does, however, provide ample commentary on Britney’s performance at the VMA’s.
Because we are often presented with the lighter side of reality, many of the students at Columbia probably lived out their early years as I did, blissfully unaware that there were people who truly hated America. As we spent our days rocking out to *NSync and choking down Happy Meals to collect all the toys, we never even stopped to consider that we were participating in capitalistic rituals, let alone that our participation in these rituals made us heathens in the eyes of others. When we stood together every morning to pledge allegiance to our flag, we had no idea that halfway around the world people were burning it.
Sept. 11 was a wakeup call for me, and I am sure it must have been for many people in my generation. As those towers fell, the image I once held of my nation as a beacon of hope, freedom and democracy crumbled. I discovered that there were people that hated the U.S., but I had little understanding as to why.
Unsurprisingly, the government and the media provided very little assistance in helping the American people understand why. Instead, they made it solely an issue of good versus evil and the prevailing attitude became ‘you are either with us or against us.’ Citizens could no longer question the impact U.S. policy had on the people of the Middle East without looking like a terrorist. All of a sudden, trying to understand the Middle East’s perspective became un-American. Un-American or not, the only way to end violence is through understanding.
My generation is poised to inherit the problems between the United States and the Middle East. We will not be able to legislate effectively in the future unless we understand the needs and desires of the Middle East.
If the government and the media fail to provide us with the knowledge necessary for us to gain an understanding of what people in the Middle East really think, then the responsibility falls on the shoulders of institutions of higher education like Columbia.
By inviting Ahmadinejad to speak, Columbia was just fulfilling an obligation to its students to prepare them for success in the real world. While we may not like Ahmadinejad, he is part of our reality.
We shouldn’t isolate ourselves from him simply because we don’t like what he has to say. One way or another, the people of the Middle East will make their voice heard. I’d rather they do it from behind a lectern than from behind a gun.
Caroline Carter is a junior SMAD and psychology major.
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