By Mesha Mittanasala | Photographer
People always say to never talk about three things: money, faith and politics. Luckily, at a Christian university, we have the ability to talk about issues regarding all of them. However, when we engage in these types of conversations, we must be cognizant of how we address issues so that we have respectful and fruitful discussions.
Two weeks ago, there were advertisements for an on-campus event featuring Riley Gaines — an NCAA swimmer who lost the Division 1 Women’s Swimming Championship to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Around the same time, a student organization called Network of Enlightened Women conducted a poll on Fountain Mall. Written on a whiteboard was the question, “Should biological men compete in women’s sports?” There was a chart beneath it for people to mark yes or no. As I was walking and looking around, there were around two rows of tallies under “no” and less than five tallies under “yes.”
In today’s day and age, we tend to narrow down political and human rights discussions to yes or no. However, I’d argue this discourages dialogue. These questions are important to ask, but we must think twice about them.
First, by restricting the answers to “yes” or “no,” it forces people to choose a side, restricting their ability to have a discussion and form a compromise. We leave the situation divided rather than educated on the ideas of others, which furthers polarization in our society.
Second, by openly displaying the answers to the question, it makes those who agree with the minority opinion less likely to participate. Since it was clear that the group posing this particular question was expecting a more conservative answer, there was an added sense of pressure to choose that answer. It creates a sense of fear about what their response may be to a different answer.
So, how should we address these types of controversial questions? We need to be able to create safe spaces for these discussions. That means acknowledging that everyone’s experiences are valid, recognizing that their political philosophy does not determine their worth as a human being and using respectful rhetoric.
We need to move from “I’m right and you’re wrong” to “What can we do about the situation to satisfy the needs of those affected by it?” You don’t have to agree with other ideas introduced in the discussion, but as long as you acknowledge and respect them, you will learn so much more about other people’s experiences.
If you want to set up a poll, make the answers anonymous by having users submit a Google form or put pieces of paper in a box. If someone would like to elaborate on their opinion, give them the space to do so and to use their opinions to further the conversation. That’s what healthy political discussion should look like.
Asking controversial questions is fundamental to furthering our society and discovering new ideas. But as we do so, we must acknowledge that there’s not always a single right or wrong answer.
