Understanding your beliefs

There is a discussion that rages today that most people actively participate in but that many are utterly confounded by. It manifests itself as a debate about "The Vagina Monologues", abortion, and Catholic identity. But we shouldn't stop here at Gonzaga. It also appears as a debate about pornography, conservative versus liberal politics, socialized health care, justice in Africa, capitalism versus Marxism, the Bible, Joseph Smith, nuclear power, evolution, gender identity, and anything and everything that we can possibly have an opinion on.

These issues are all the real consequences of the discussion, and the battleground through which the discussion is mostly fought. But the heart of the discussion lies at the point where the conversation about these issues breaks down in some way or another. The point at which someone walks away, or makes an ad hominem, or a punch is thrown, or a lunatic fires a bullet. This is the point at which civility is no longer a consideration. What are we really arguing about here?

For simplicity's sake, take the abortion issue. For most people, we are talking about an either/or proposition: Does life start at birth or conception? Sounds simple enough, all you have to do is pick a side. But is this the end of the discussion? Do we have to start screaming at the top of our lungs once we reach this crossroads? My answer, and I can only say this after having been provoked after my four years at GU to dig deeper, is unequivocally, "No!"

And this is where the discussion begins. "What the hell is going on here?" Who is absolutely right, who is absolutely wrong, or what strange combination of perspectives is the Truth? It is the question of what ultimately grounds our views in fetuses and holy wars and everything else.

But we've seen how this discussion typically unfolds. On YouTube, even the most mundane of videos can incite a raucous discussion about race, politics or religion (often even all three at once). Or, take the ideological battle between the extremist worldview and the American/Judeo-Christian worldview — commonly known as the War on Terror or Jihad (depending on which side you're on) — which manifests itself in a bloody and violent struggle. Or, perhaps, an example closer to home, in your home, at your kitchen table. Dad brings up taxes (or whatever it was), Mom tries to change the subject, and everyone concedes the point by tuning out.

Many of us are so sick, or tired, or perhaps even disgusted, by the lack of discussion that gets to the heart of the issue that we quite simply concede our own perspective, and thereby ourselves, to those people who are still talking about it.

But I would like to make a personal plea to those who may have already relinquished the point: Try to understand your personal point of view and why you ultimately hold it.

Luckily for us, at Gonzaga there is an arena in which the heart of the discussion still takes place in a constructive way, and we are privileged to have the access we do to a quality venue. In College Hall you will find the deepest roots of a Gonzaga education called the liberal arts. Defined another way, we can call them the "free" arts. It is this historic curriculum that has as its goal the liberation of a mind so that it may see the distinction between the content of a discussion and the form of a discussion. Put another way, its goal is to aid our individual understanding of the basis of any issue so that civil discussion can live on.

We ultimately need to decide for ourselves what we believe, because if we can't decide for ourselves what the hell is going on, someone else will, and may already be.