The only thing that fights hate and division is hope and community. That was the point former representative Beto O’Rourke hammered home when he came to Wichita Falls on Monday, Feb. 16.
MSU is a campus made up of people from all backgrounds from countries all over the world. With that, there is bound to be division, whether that’s by race, class, gender or sexuality.
However, this division has not and will never benefit students.
As the country becomes more divided, it is important for students to band together and support each other in whatever way we can.
“We’re all in this together,” O’Rourke said. “Because they’re attacking each and every single one of us, trying to divide us and separate us so that they can take us out and take us down.”
O’Rourke is right.
Division ultimately creates weaker factions that are easier to control. It is easier to step on and stamp down individuals than it is to fight against large, organized groups.
Whether we are fighting adversity outside of campus, or antagonists on campus, it is important to rely on your fellow student. That may be your roommate, or a student organization, it really does not matter. What matters is knowing you have a community on campus.
Right now, students are scared. They are scared for themselves; for their friends; for their families.
Though this fear is not unfounded, it is easily manipulated.
Whether it results in a “crabs in a bucket,” or an “us versus them,” mentality, the results end up the same. We become so focused on fighting each other, we become blind to the real problem – injustice.
Ultimately, there are very few of us that will never be impacted by injustice, and so by working together, we can make each of our lives better.
Sometimes that means banding together with a group of people you have never interacted with. Sometimes that means meeting in the middle with people you disagree with.
However, that does not mean compromising our morals or our rights.
As the philosopher Sir Karl Popper stated in his book, “The Open Society and Its Enemies – Volume One: The Spell of Plato,” we cannot tolerate intolerance.
“If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them,” Popper said.
So ultimately, it is up to us to fight and resist intolerance in any way we can. Whether that is by helping your neighbor directly, or standing up for what is right.
“We’ve got to come together, [there are] more of us than there are of them, and understand that in our unity we really have power. We’ve got to use that to fight back,” O’Rourke said.
