Roanoke College is an institution I deeply love. I have made many memories here, good and bad, that have fundamentally shaped me into not only the kind of person I am, but the kind of person I wish to be. Throughout my time here, I have seen students, staff, and faculty struggle with deep political and moral disagreements, though I have never seen campus like this.
Right now, this campus is deeply disunified, which is completely representative of American society. We are separated and defined by our ideological differences. This is not something the campus is encouraging, nonetheless it is something that almost everyone I’ve talked to seems to feel. Walking around campus, at least for the past few days, has made me worry about how we can move forward despite tremendous emotional turmoil. I have wondered why we seem unable to interact, and I believe right now it falls down to ideology. We all have personal biases and reasons to think the way that they do, but these should never be allowed to define us.
I am not just a product of my ideology. I am much more than any political party or societally constructed identity could possibly encompass. This is true of all of us. None of us can be fully defined by any kind of political identity. Sometimes it’s easier to call ourselves democrats or republicans because we know we will be surrounded by people who accept us as human. Disagreements starting from a place of respect are far easier to emotionally deal with than disagreements starting from a place of hurt and anger. Despite this, we must learn how to interact with one another again.
The reasons we are disunified are great in number, but the push to unify despite these differences must be greater. In the next few issues, the Brackety-Ack will explore how to have difficult conversations with people who fundamentally disagree with one another. America is not a country which requires everyone to agree; it is however a country that thrives on cooperation despite disagreement. We can, and will, disagree with one another. We can, and should, strive to overcome these disagreements and better ourselves, our campus, and our society.
Mikaela Gantz
Editor-in-Chief
