THE FINAL WORD

Losing Civility

THE DOWNSIDE OF SAFE SPACES.

BY FRED PARRY

As 2021 slowly comes to an end, it seems that the last 12 months have been nothing more than a grueling extension of a rather painful 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic changed our world in so many ways, but perhaps none more than in the way that members of the human species now interact with each other. Maybe it has been a long time in the making and the pandemic just accelerated the deterioration of human relations. Even so, never has the loss of civility in our culture been more apparent than in the last two years.

From the riots that followed the death of George Floyd to the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to the ruthless attacks on Asian-Americans and the disruptions at local school board meetings across the country, many Americans seem to have reached the brink of their intolerance and a complete lack of respect for ideologies different than their own. Business author and guru Stephen Covey once said that our collective strength lies in our differences rather than in our similarities. Sadly, the spirit of that statement seems so distant at this moment in time.

Strangely enough, this era of anger, hostility and intolerance seems to be most present on college campuses across our country and right here in Columbia. From demands to remove a statue of Thomas Jefferson to shouting down guest speakers on campus, the one place that was once fertile ground for ideological exploration and civil debate has now become scorched earth. The place where every radical idea deserved its turn on the proverbial soapbox has now become a place where “safe spaces” have been created to protect college students from ideas that might hurt their feelings or, better yet, challenge them to defend their ideas and positions against conventional or widely held beliefs.

Some would say that the “safe spaces” movement began on the University of Missouri campus in 2015 when student protestors, led by graduate student Jonathan Butler (see www.jonathanlbutler.com), forced the resignation of then MU President Tim Wolfe. You may recall how protestors, protected by a handful of MU professors, pushed journalists and photographers away from their demonstrations on the quadrangle demanding that they be given a “safe space” to expound their views, unchallenged by opposing perspectives or the test of outside scrutiny.

It was, unfortunately, a missed opportunity for educators and administrators at MU to teach students a few valuable lessons about life. 1) Adversity builds character through strength and perseverance. 2) History has proven, time and time again, that great things are often accomplished under duress. 3) Even though free speech is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, there can still be consequences for freely expressing your opinion in our society. Be prepared to defend your beliefs. 4) If you refuse to hear opposing viewpoints, you’ll miss out on the wonderful opportunity to change your mind from time to time on issues that will become more and more important to you.

It doesn’t seem like we’ve learned many lessons since 2015. Today, the official University of Missouri website still provides guidance and offers training on “How To Create Safes Spaces on the Mizzou Campus.” There’s no doubt in my mind that there are still thugs and rednecks on campus who may choose to exact violence and hate speech upon some of the marginalized populations. However, it seems that rather than working so hard to isolate these students, there ought to be a greater effort to tap into the strength that comes through the understanding of one another’s differences. To me, that’s the most important education that happens on college campuses.

As the parent of sons, ages 21 and 24, there’s no doubt that a great deal of the blame for this inability to handle adversity falls on the shoulders of the parents of my generation. We’ve worked so hard to create “soft landings” for our children with the hope that they would never have to experience the pain and rejection we experienced as adolescents and young adults. Sadly, when our kids are pushed out of the nest and go to college campuses, they now have a tougher time adjusting to the normal adversities from which parents once protected and shielded them.

Though we seem to have temporarily lost our way, we’d be doing future generations a big favor if we could somehow force ourselves to give our kids a fair taste of life’s medicine. Life’s not fair. It never has been. The sooner the next generation can set aside their hurt feelings and start taking both the good and bad that comes with life, the sooner you’ll see the return of tolerance and civility. Life’s a two-way street. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it’s unbelievably awesome. You won’t know how good it can be until you remove yourself from a safe space.

Fred Parry Founder & Publisher Emeritus fred@insidecolumbia.net