Humility and respect are essential to social progress

I love Tufts. And I love its student body. I love that so many of my peers are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about certain issues, and I love that they are often incredibly opinionated about these issues. I love that so many of those around me are not content with merely liking the Facebook page of a certain cause but instead decide to sacrifice time and energy for these issues they deem important. It is so easy to be a silent proponent of a movement, but all around me I see people willing to raise their voices and risk their reputations in order to improve our world. Because of this passion for social issues and causes, however, I also rather often find myself frustrated with Tufts.

You see, I want to hear the opinions of those who are diametrically opposed to my ideologies, and I would have no problem if they were to bring about a change in my perspective. But I also know that I am unlikely to listen to -- and will almost certainly not change my mind to agree with -- someone who is unwilling to listen to my perspective as well. And this is the problem I often have with the Tufts community. I fear that there is a lack of an ability to carry out constructive dialogues. I fear that many opinions being divulged on the Hill are not being heard, not because they are invalid, but because they are presented with aggression and condescension. I fear that discussions about extremely important issues -- equality, politics, the environment -- have become debates, and debates often succeed only in closing off the minds of those involved.

Take, for example, the experience one of my friends had while attempting to bring an organization to Tufts. A group of students felt that, for various reasons, this organization would be a negative presence on campus, instead of the positive presence my friend and others had envisioned. These students then proceeded to disrupt the general information meeting by staging a walkout. Now, I believe that those involved in the walkout most likely had perfectly valid concerns. The emotions behind their actions were most certainly very real and strong, and I’m certain I would agree with some of their opinions. But at the same point, they had never talked with my friend or attempted to understand why she thought this organization should come to Tufts. And now I find myself hesitant to listen to them.

Harsh and vitriolic words tend to harm not just opponents of causes or opinions, but also the causes and opinions themselves.

If any true progress is to be made -- if any voice from the Hill is to ever reach the whole of society and not just half of it -- we must learn to respect the views of those opposed to us. We must engage in conversation without the intention to prove others wrong and with a willingness to accept that we might not be entirely right. And we must be fueled by a desire not to affirm our own position of righteousness, but to bring about good for the sake of those opposing us.