Editor:
I would like to reply to those of you who have voiced your distaste for the university’s “Beyond Tolerance” theme in remembrance of the Sept. 11 victims, including Aaron Chambers and particularly law students such as Mathew Higbee.
It seems you insist on wallowing in your guttural reaction to the terrorist attack. You puff up your chests and toss around the word “war” like it’s a varsity match.
But for all of your flag waving and boot stomping, you have forgotten one crucial truth. As you celebrate the freedoms you have in “this great nation,” realize that those freedoms are not your rights, they are your privileges, and with those privileges come responsibilities.
You have the responsibility to educate yourselves, to discern between truth and error. You have the responsibility to participate in the processes that protect your freedom and security (even when that means protecting them from your own government).
Above all, you have the responsibility to contribute to the unity of Americans as a people. That means tolerance of the many different cultures and beliefs that make up the nation you so dearly love.
In order to celebrate the freedom you enjoy, you must be aware of the oppression you inflict. At an international level, it is critical. However, here on campus you were simply asked to consider this important element of a very complex tragedy. Your protest only reveals your ignorance.
Jessica Done
Sophomore, Political Science and English