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Nick
Bahl
Columnist
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“Of all that is written, I love only what a man has written
with his blood… Whoever writes in blood and aphorisms does not
want to be read but to be learned by heart… Behold the superfluous!
They are always sick; they vomit their gall and call it a newspaper.”
— Nietzsche
Tap, tap, tap, is this thing on?
Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?
Haven’t you noticed that simple statements of opinion can stir
up quite a ruckus? Are free thinkers really those who claim to be
so? Do freethinkers criticize the opinions of others and try to limit
them? Am I a free thinker? Is it possible to be a free thinker if
you’re controlled in part by something larger than you?
If I were to yell, “Fire” in a crowded movie theater
would you run, or would you look around to see if there was, in fact,
a fire? What’s your answer? If you’re a runner, doesn’t
that mean you’re controlled by my use of language?
Most humans would run wouldn’t they? Is this an instinct, or
is it something that’s socialized into us? Am I the only one
that has a problem with people that rely on socialization to describe
every part of an individual’s character development? Is this
open-minded?
Is it not true that all humans are born unequal? Aren’t some
people blind, deaf, “disabled,” or enabled from birth?
Could it be possible that those that we call disabled are truly more
enabled than we? Did you ever think about asking Student Trustee Harris
Singer what he thinks about this? Just because we’re all born
unequal, why shouldn’t we all be treated equally?
If living animals, humans, that are born unequal and should still
be treated equally, doesn’t that mean that animals should be
treated equal to us as well? If inequality calls for equal treatment,
which it does, where do we draw the line and why?
If I held each of my hands out to you, and in one hand there was
a young child and in the other was a young rabbit, what would you
think? What would you do if I told you that both were malnourished
and you couldn’t save either of them? Where would your gaze
drift? Would it drift back and forth, or would it concentrate on one
of them? Would it concentrate on the human child? Would you feel more
compassion for the human than you would for the rabbit? Why? Is this
truly ethical as defined above? If you were starving to death, why
would you eat the rabbit first?
Life is life is life is life, isn’t it? What makes your gaze
focus more on the human than the rabbit? If you’ve never had
any contact with either of them prior to this meeting, why does the
child capture your heart? Is it because you can relate to a human
more than to a rabbit? Is it possible that we can relate to some humans
better than others just as we can relate to all humans better than
to a rabbit?
What if I held out two babies of different ethnicity? What would
you do? Where would your gaze drift? You need to know the ethnicity
of each baby to answer that, don’t you? What’s the difference?
Life is life is life is life, isn’t it?
We all know skin color doesn’t matter whatsoever, right? Why
then do you still feel more compassion for the child who resembles
you more? Do you simply perceive that one of the children would be
able to communicate with you in a more meaningful way? Is perception
truly reality, or is it truly deception? What makes the potential
of one living thing more meaningful than that of another?
Is language a common bond which ties some people together and rips
others apart? Are we socially justified, therefore naturally justified
because we cannot choose what culture we are born into, to favor some
humans more than others and all humans more than animals? Is this
really socialization? Would any of this really change if we shared
a common language? Would such diversity, as the world currently has,
have been possible with one common language?
If diversity is needed to thrive and learn — which it is —
why do so many people on this campus hate me? Aren’t we here
to thrive and learn? Why do others love me simply because I “agree”
with their world view? Could it be possible that so many of you misunderstand
me simply because you misunderstand my language? Is this my intent?
Would it be human, all too human, for me to speak after the following
quotes, and would you like my answer to every question I posed to
you this semester after the following quotes? I’ll give you
my answer, but will you let me know if you understand it or can expand
on it?
“Not only are they liars who speak when they know better, but
even worse, those who speak when they know nothing.”
“I know nothing.”
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
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