The Trouble with Bubbles
August 28, 2007 | Contributed by Daniel Walters
You’ve probably heard of people who- due to weakened immune systems, deadly illnesses or dramatic allergies- are forced to live their entire life encased in what’s essentially a plastic bubble. If that bubble has even the slightest hole- waves of deadly bacteria rush in.
The irony, of course, with hyper-sanitized environments like these is that the immune system atrophies without exposure to the elements. Some pundits even blame skyrocketing Asthma rates on our penchant for cleanliness.
Many Whitworth students live in a similar bubble, of sorts.
They live sheltered lives. I’m not talking about kids whose parents won’t let him watch R-rated movies or have wild bacchanalian sex all the time. I’m talking about students that construct bubbles of their own devising. They turn away from anything they disagree with, anything controversial. Instead, they subsist on a diet of books, movies, websites, and friends that merely echo back their own beliefs.
The soapy film of their preconceptions, meanwhile, distorts their vision so they see other beliefs as stupid, wrong, or downright evil.
Go through the Whitworthian archives and read the letters to the editor. Count how many are simply outraged- stunned- that the Whitworthian would print an opinion different than their own.
On those occasions where another point of view manages to slip through their bubble, the results are catastrophic. Instead of politely disagreeing with the opposing idea, they try their best to squash it, censor it, or demonize it.
I’ve always believed that college shouldn’t just be a phrase on a resume. That it should be a place entirely devoted to bursting bubbles with a constant blast of pluralism. Take 2500 intelligent students, each with slightly different views, backgrounds, theories and experiences, toss them together, and ideally, they each come out with a newfound respect for other ideas.
Unfortunately, the opposite often happens. Students, upon arriving at college, immediately scramble to find their niche- people like them. People who have the same political opinions, like the same food, and like to do the same things. Whitworth even has clubs entirely devoted to that purpose.
It’s understandable, even natural. We want to be comfortable. We want to be happy. We don’t want to be bothered by that nasty notion that we may be wrong.
And we rarely challenge other’s beliefs as well. Even in our uncouth culture it’s considered impolite, even rude, to disagree with someone. Most times and places, frankly, aren’t conducive to a rousing philosophical debate. So when somebody says something we disagree with we either change the subject or roll our eyes. Later on we complain and rant to our friends, who only support our point of view.
Whitworth, however, concentrates so much on making its students feel comfortable, that it forgets an even more important aspect of education, making students feel uncomfortable. Exposing them to different ideas and opinions that are downright bothersome. Teaching them how to grudgingly tolerate other opinions, respond to them, and even value them.
Like hands growing calluses after months of manual labor, eventually weathering enough disagreeable ideas gives you thick skin. And thick skin, as anyone will tell you, is one of the most valuable things for real life.
One of my goals for this blog is to expose Whitworth to the radical breadth and depth of opinions that Whitworth students hold. This campus is far less monolithic than people make it out to be.
Many other ways to express opinions fall short. Fear and politeness stop us from discussing controversial issues in person. And unfortunately, many SAGA table debates devolve into shouting matches just when they’re getting interesting. The Whitworthian Opinions section and letters to the editors have a different problem- the response time is so long that there’s no chance for a real discussion to develop.
I believe with this blog, however, there’ll be enough distance that students will feel comfortable expressing unpopular opinions, but enough closeness that students will understand that there’s an actual human being behind the blocks of text. I’m counting on our posters to show both bravery and respect.
I want to show that any issue has at least three different sides, and that Whitworthians can make a convincing, articulate case for any of them.
With dozens of different students- each representing only their own personal opinions, not the opinions of groups or organizations- there’s bound to be some fascinating discussion. This blog will deal with all sorts of issues, from colligate to international, from trivial to pivotal. We’ll deal with Whitworth, Spokane, local, national, and international politics, history, sociology, communications, the media, pop culture, and—as they say— much much more! We’ll analyze situations, respond to articles and columns in the Whitworthian, review Whitworth events, discuss the past and make predictions for the future.
There’s also bound to be at least one post that makes you seethingly angry. I’d encourage you to, instead of trying to start up the powerful campus outrage machine to think: Where are they coming from? Why did they write this? What important aspects are they missing? How are they incorrect, not how are they evil or stupid?
Then, in the grand tradition of mature discussion, you can respond.
And pop some bubbles of your own.
Comments
3 Responses to “The Trouble with Bubbles”
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I disagree. In fact, there is only one side to any given topic, and only one side that Whitworth students take.
All joking aside, I am excited for the possibilities that this blog offers for the Whitworth student body and their ability to speak their minds on current issues. May the authors be blessed with wisdom and perfect grammar.
Word. And Walters, though you did split an infinitive, this is a great idea and I hope that any and all input I offer helps make Whitworth a better place to live and debate. Rock on.
You all have fun with your perfect grammar; I’m going to be the typography & punctuation Nazi. I want to see dashes, people — proper dashes! Em dashes, en dashes, hyphens, minus signs, all with their slight, delightful variances.
And don’t even get me started on ligatures.