Five semesters as a columnist and 100 columns will teach you a lot about people and their opinions. It will show you the pig-headedness of people but also the graciousness of people, as I have seen in my readers’ responses.
This semester, I received an e-mail from a reader who asked me to shut up. This summer I received an e-mail that said my writing reflected my humanity. Though the reality may be somewhere in the middle, I will let you decide which person is right.
From raves to rants, I have experienced it. But this column is not a manifesto for the past or the present. Rather, I hope it will allow you, the readers, to find solace in our future.
Sometimes my writing was strikingly partisan and other times it was critical. Much of the time I wanted to provide social commentary, whereas other arguments required that I build a consensus.
Whatever the nature was, the column served as a vehicle to make people re-examine their beliefs and start discussions over-heated topics. Only when we discuss things are the lines of communication are open can we talk things over. For this to occur, we must listen.
Maybe you don’t want to take advice on listening from someone who gets paid to churn out weekly rants. But if there is one thing my tenure has taught me, it is the importance of listening.
All over the country we see pictures of people resorting to violence and offensive behavior to get their point across, but that would not be the case if we listened to each another. To clarify, listening does not mean, “nodding and smiling” as the other person speaks while you wait for your turn to talk.
Listening is an active process, and one that requires you to participate in the conversation or debate. By remaining attentive we may just learn something important or have a revelation. It is something that we do far too little of. Listening is a synonym for progress.
Strange as that idea may seem, listening, like progress, requires an open mind. If we go into a discussion with preconceived notions or dead set in our ways, we will not yield any tangible results.
This brings us to the old adage, “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” While this is overtly cliché and overused, it never loses its impact.
This is the common thread that ran through my columns — the idea that everyone deserves a turn at the microphone. This is one of the cornerstones of a democracy and freedom, but with it also comes the freedom to listen. We must move forward with this principle.
By doing so, we close the gap between the real and the ideal. This will put us on the course to ensure that our best days lay ahead of us.
Andrew bids you farewell. Send him your best at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu
