Why change requires active participation.
By: Jools Pulcher, Online Editor
This past few weeks I have witnessed a lot of politically based events, both big and small in my life. The one that comes to mind the most prominently is when we had religious protestors preaching on school grounds just over a week ago. This isn’t the first time that these people have been on campus, and it won’t be the last. But their presence, and the reasons they are allowed to continue being on this campus, represent a wider problem I often see in the rest of the country.
When I have asked why these men are allowed to openly preach at students while wearing, “Fear God” signs, the answer I am given has always been that they are allowed to remain on campus so long as they remain peaceful. The issue with this is that these men may be being physically peaceful, but their presence is anything but. When they take over a publicly used collegiate area to preach at students about how students need to fear their god and repent their sins or else burn in hell, it doesn’t matter how intimidating these people act. Their presence threatens the existence of those who find this campus a safe and comfortable space.
The thing is, with people like this it’s easy to just look the other way. It’s easy to say that you don’t want to get political, or that you just want to live your life. However, the problem is that this mindset is dangerous. It is what costs people their rights and their livelihoods. By looking the other way when these extremists invade our spaces and scream that they want to harm us, we are allowing these harmful beliefs to continue to exist and to become larger than they should.
A day later, I was on Instagram and I saw a post about a school-wide walkout taking place in a high school. The walkout was over the firing of two teachers who expressed that they intended to marry their same-sex partners. The students then organized and ran an extremely successful walkout in support of their teachers. These days, most of the protests we see are younger people who are picking up the proverbial torch and fighting for what they believe in. These young individuals are incredibly inspiring. And they remind me of what it will take to leave this era of hatred behind.
The way out of this is by taking action. However, it doesn’t require large rallies or political protests. Fighting against intolerance is as simple as pointing it out and cutting it off when you see it. It starts with saying something and doing something, something is always better than nothing. The only way to build a world where we all belong is to not tolerate those who would take us backwards instead of forwards.
