Divergence

I recently had a conversation with a person I used to know quite well. In fact, the person said something along lines of "You used to be my best friend and I respected your thoughts more than just about anybody. Now, I just don't know who you are." Around what did the conversation in question center? Obama and the healthcare debate. When this person started down the "Obama is a Socialist" path and I suggested, in what I thought was a rather non-threatening manner, that the "socialist" argument was a form of fearmongering intended to elicit a purely emotional response, I found myself on the receiving end of a conservative tirade. People are lazy, almost all people in need are actually out to game the system, and Obama is just trying to give handouts. I was also informed that my position (systemic inequities exist that lead to significant social/political/economic advantage and disadvantage) was the result of being brainwashed by people who look like, well, me (the liberal intelligentsia?). Ultimately, the person in question implied that my position--some kind of healthcare for all--was somehow in opposition to my education and intelligence. I bit my tongue (I think it may have been bleeding) and removed myself from the conversation.

I will gladly have a debate regarding the ideological positions regarding whether the US should offer healthcare to all citizens or not. There are reasonable arguments to be made on all sides of the issues. While I will defend healthcare as a right, I understand there are well thought arguments against that position. What I will not listen to is someone tell me that Obama is covertly advocating some kind of socialist takeover by the US government. That is just disingenuous and unfair. Quit spewing conspiracy theory nonsense and dig into the substantive issues at hand.

And to that person with whom I had this conversation: you're right. You don't know me. At all. Our political positions, and our general views of humanity, diverged 17 years go. I tried to have a civil conversation with you. I presented my position as one way of viewing the world, not the right way of viewing the world. I listened to your position and acknowledged that your view was a valid way of engaging the healthcare debate. In return, I was attacked. Not my position, not my argument, but me. I'm stupid because I don't think like you.

Brilliant.

Spank!

I gave my students a verbal swat on the behind this afternoon. When I asked what they thought of the President's address to the joint session of Congress, only one person could engage in a thoughtful discussion thereof. Why? With the exception of this one student, nobody took the time to watch or read the President's remarks. Are you kidding me?

I reminded my students that one of the goals of a liberal arts education is to become a learned citizen capable of joining the conversation regarding the public good. I suggested that their education goes beyond what they're learning in the classroom and extends to their practices in everyday life. Seek out knowledge and become a "person equipped to understand and confront a changing society." That's straight from the mission statement of our fine institution. One would think that students, particularly Communication Studies students, would be interested in how the President's message fits into a particularly contentious debate about our changing society.

Is this thing on? Am I reaching any of these young adults?

Hot Zone

I received an email from our Public Information office late yesterday afternoon: 7 cases of H1N1 have surfaced at our school. With all the conflicting media reports out there (It's a pandemic! It's really nothing to worry about!), I suppose the school is handling the news in the best manner possible. Nobody appears to be freaking out; instead, the administration is encouraging students to quarantine themselves and asking the community at large to do simple things like hand washing, preventative coughing and sneezing (sneeze into your hand or your arm), and staying home if one becomes symptomatic. The last one will be tough for me. I'm that professor that brings a box of tissue to class and lectures with a 101 degree fever. The administration also asked all professors to think about contingency plans for keeping ill students up to speed with coursework. The expectation is that we'll modify any course assignments so that they can be handled digitally, thus limiting contact between infected students and the rest of the campus community. This will be inconvenient, in some cases (how do I handle remote speech assignments? webcam?), but not impossibly so.

As my school is a residential campus--all 2700 students are required to live in residence halls all four years--it should be interesting to see how quickly this thing spreads. In fact, we've been identified as one of the most dangerous infectious disease sites in our county. Score!

Am I being selfish if I admit that I'm more concerned that I might bring home the virus to my 4 year old son than I am about infected college students? When will those vaccines hit the clinics? I want mine yesterday.