UW-Madison is an extremely liberal place. This is neither a good or bad thing, it’s just how it is. Recent initiatives by the university have aimed to increase the diversity of the student body and create a welcoming place for people of color.
The only way we can become a truly diverse place is by incorporating people from all walks of life. That includes whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, women, men, lesbians, gays, liberals and many others. But that also includes conservatives and working class individuals.
It is not easy to confront ideas that we disagree with, but it is the only way we can grow intellectually. The university prides itself as being an open and safe environment, but there are clearly certain people and viewpoints who are not welcome here. We need to recognize the importance of diversity of thought so that we do not become blind to people who we disagree with.
There is a huge disconnect in our society between liberal and conservative areas. Look at any election map from the recent presidential race that gets down to the county level and you will see that almost all of America will appear red for Republican. However, large urban areas appear in blue for Democrats where many liberals live. This rural-urban divide is just one example of the divide between many types of Americans.
The day after the election, when we all woke up with the realization that Donald Trump would be our next president, many students across campus were confused, shocked and concerned about what was going to happen and how the next four years were going to go. This worry is understandable.
Trump was an unprecedented candidate and is the first person to be elected president who has never held a public office or military position. However, the shock and confusion is not acceptable. We have become too sheltered in our liberal university. Almost all of us failed to comprehend or accept that anyone other than our candidate could win. We failed to communicate with people outside our inner circle of thinking and only managed to bounce ideas off other like-minded individuals.
I want to be clear that I am writing as someone who holds many left-leaning views, but does not identify with a political party. I try very hard to see both sides to every story, and even I was completely blindsided by the election results.
I had to take a long look at how I acquire my news and who I am in conversation with. I realized that even as someone who does not like political parties and the divisions that they can create in our society, I failed to understand the trends that were at play in the election.
Disagreements between political parties and viewpoints have become too wide in our country. We need to strive for multiple types of diversity to continue to challenge our thinking.
By staying enclosed in our bubbles, we lack a diversity of thought that is essential for moving our country forward. It is not easy to discuss contentious topics with people who disagree with us, but it is essential to spread our ideas and prevent ourselves from being ignorant of others.
When we converse with people who think differently from us we can learn from each other and grow together as a united country.
Thomas is a senior majoring in psychology and history. Do you think people need to be more open-minded when discussing politics? Do you seek opposing viewpoints when evaluating issues in politics? Please send all comments and concerns to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
