Letters to the Editor

Fending off Fiore

To the Editor:

In his recent column ("Make room for the right'" The Daily Pennsylvanian, 11/5/01), Mark Fiore demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the value of diversity.

In his defense, the misunderstanding is probably due to an unexamined endorsement of diversity and tolerance by many liberals. Fiore argues that if liberals are not willing to accept as valid the beliefs of conservatives, then they should not claim to value diversity. This argument makes the assumption that diversity (or tolerance) is an end in itself.

Tolerance of ideas is not an end in itself, but is has the purpose of granting to every individual the respect and dignity that he or she deserves. One can value the dignity of every person while taking a firm stand against bigotry, homophobia, sexism and any other establishment that fails to regard an individual as fully human.

Fiore is right when he points out that liberals are generally no less dogmatic about their beliefs than their conservative counterparts.

In the end we could say that anyone with strong ideas is intolerant and closed-minded. However, although the claim "I'm intolerant, you're intolerant" may be true, it is not a valid argument for the relative merit of different sides of an issue.

This is the common sophomoric relativism that often follows the absolutism of our pre-college years. After realizing that we don't know exactly what the truth is, we opt for the view that "everything's relative, and we can't say one opinion is any better than another."

Hopefully one moves through this stage to realize that while there are few absolutes, we can gain closer and closer provisional approximations of what is true. It seems that the focus on tolerance per se has led to confusion among both liberals and conservatives as to what really are the important issues in these debates.

Seth Gillihan

Psychology Ph.D. student

To the Editor:

I've often wondered to myself, but now I have to ask publicly, -- what university does Mark Fiore attend? After reading his column Monday, I'm convinced that he can't possibly be here at Penn, or at the very least, he goes to a Penn very different from the one I have seen.

In his column on the lack of respect given to conservative viewpoints on this campus he states, "The University, in fact, fosters a hostility toward conservatives -- and lives in denial of this reality."

Again, is Fiore sure that he attends the University of Pennsylvania? If there is a political bent on this campus, I would say that it is decidedly toward a conservative viewpoint.

While I sympathize with the instances of such disrespect that Fiore mentions -- especially the personal attacks in responses to his columns -- I believe that he is confused as to their source. It is not that Penn is closed-minded when it comes to conservative viewpoints; it is closed-minded when it comes to any viewpoints outside the mainstream. And if he will bother to remember back a few years, I'm sure that Fiore will recall shaking "his head in derisive agreement" when President Bill Clinton was mocked in classrooms. I've had more than my fair share of rolled eyes in response to alternative viewpoints raised in classrooms.

Sue Casey

College of General Studies '02

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.