For the last few years, I’ve spent at least one night a week putting my thoughts on paper for this publication about myriad topics, from serious things such as the presidential primary and last year’s flood to lighter topics such as the train problem in Columbia or the value of memes. I was even lucky enough to serve as an editor on the staff, if only for a few semesters.
As I look back on my time writing and editing opinions, I've been wondering. What drives people to stake out positions on something and express it to people? Why is your Facebook feed peppered with snarky posts about the election or your Twitter mostly a collection of your witticisms on daily life? And most importantly, is having a strong opinion always necessary?
Part of college, as I’ve discovered, is opening up to new perspectives and ideas. Some of my most valuable hours freshman year were spent not in the classroom but in the residence hall lounge late at night, discussing politics, pop culture or personal experiences. My roommates, friends, professors and classmates have been invaluable resources not only for good times or support, but also for challenging my ideas and stoking introspection and debate.
As for the opinion page, a former editor summed it up this way to me: We discuss the topics your mom said were impolite to talk about. Politics, religion and scandal are frequent topics. We rarely hold to the famous maxim, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything” — or however that saying goes. Although we always try to make our point civilly, things might get a little heated from time to time. But that’s OK.
A lot of people wonder why the discourse in our political system, and, indeed, our society, has fallen off in the last few decades. I am sure that one reason for the decline is that our debates have become 140-character conversations, and our values systems have become more and more vague.
There is something to be said for political correctness. It has helped lead to a more tolerant and compassionate society and helped shine a light on bigotry and extremism. But it has also led to the policing of thought and the withdrawal of some from the public sphere in fear.
Paradoxically, we seem to be criticized as both an over-opinionated generation and one that is too afraid of hurting other people’s feelings. It’s fine to have a strong opinion, conventional wisdom holds, so long as it fits in with the socially acceptable narrative. But I see a different reality — one where students at USC and all across the country are willing to challenge the status quo and each other and speak out against whatever we disagree with.
We may not be as strident as our parents about our protests or our hatred of authority, but I’m sure that we have just as many strong opinions about politics, art and the human condition as they did. The trick is making sure those beliefs shine through and are challenged.
So if something really ticks you off, discuss it with your friends. Talk about it with groups of people you don’t know so well. And above all, write about it, whether it’s on social media, in your classes or in the pages of The Daily Gamecock.
Only by discussing the issues of our time in an open and honest way will we tackle them head-on, and I hope that over the last few years in the opinion section, I’ve helped contribute to the discussion a little bit. I think I have — at least, that’s my opinion.