Xavier Bortner
campus editor
[email protected]
There has been a lot of division between people in recent years, and I think there are benefits to that.
In today’s world, it feels like opposing views are looked down upon and demonized because they differ from the prevailing opinion. It happened quite often, but I think there’s a certain sense of absurdity in seeing different points of view as something to be opposed to.
Many people, primarily on social media, adopt an “us versus them” mentality. Anyone who thinks differently about an issue clearly deserves hate, and I dare you to say that you prefer the Star Wars prequels to the original trilogy or prefer McDonald’s chicken nuggets to Burger King. We are ready to become a dartboard on which we can collectively hurl hate. .
This way of thinking, “They don’t agree with me, so they’re my enemies,” type of thinking is reductive. It’s regressive. I would argue that social media has only amplified this idea, and that it has seeped into real life. There have been multiple instances where people have been subjected to harsh and humiliating comments because they thought outside the box.
Frans Johansson, author of 2006’s The Medici Effect and 2015’s Click Moment, says, “The best ideas are born when disparate perspectives meet.” This is something I’m thinking about a lot right now.
A lot has happened since I fumbled my way through fourth grade as a reclusive B and C student basket case and then fumbled my way into first year as a reclusive A and B student basket case and journalist. It allowed me to put my own perspective. .
Since taking on this reporting role in 2022, I’ve spoken to quite a few people, and it’s great to understand different ideas and perspectives on a wide range of topics, including DEI-related ideas and the ethical use of AI in creative. Now it looks like this. space, pay disparity among educators, and more. If you want to see these, her website at The Collegian is not far away. That’s “The Collegian” and “Dot Com.” Remember, extra clicks are always welcome.
Shamelessness issues aside, I think it’s enlightening to learn to at least tolerate, if not respect, others’ worldviews. I was able to expand my personal horizons in ways I never thought possible in high school. I still have a lot to learn, but it’s something I’m very proud of.
Writing down other people’s opinions is very easy and almost inconvenient. However, since the pandemic, what I have been especially conscious of is trying to find an easy way out of the situation. It’s definitely something that takes discipline, and I’m not entirely sure if I’m disciplined yet, but it’s a goal of mine that I want to focus on.
Being open to new ideas and perspectives is important in gaining a deeper understanding of who you want to be. Over the past two years or so, he has found that hearing other people’s opinions has been an invaluable experience, allowing him to reflect, evaluate, and reevaluate his own personal biases and preconceptions about concepts he had never thought of on his own. I was able to.