Our culture is one of victimhood. It is becoming a trend on college campuses. It is spreading rapidly like a virus–the narrative of victimhood. In fact, students don’t mind pulling out the victim card and declaring the world hates them.
“I’m entitled to special privileges because of the way I’ve been treated.”
“I’m a minority and therefore I am oppressed.”
“You don’t like me because of my religion.”
Photo by Eric Nopanen
Conservatives are especially popular for engendering this narrative. No one likes a victim. No one likes someone who wants to be “right” all the time. So far, the “victimhood” card plays incredibly well with the conservative media. They do need a theme, after all. And, unfortunately, one of the most “appealing” themes is playing the victim, the damsel in distress. It is ridiculous to see the number of college students who stumble into this pit. It is a shame, really. Victimhood is just another excuse to dismiss responsibilities, to consign blame to others when we should be assesing ourselves and our actions.
A college education gives us an opportunity to listen to everyone’s voice, to expose ourselves to views radically different from our own. If we never venture farther than our worldview, we will never sharpen our writing, speaking, and analytical skills. We should be informing ourselves, reading a lot (think George Orwell, John Locke, Thomas Paine.) We should be willing to consider someone else’s opinion (after all, humans are very complex beings; it makes no sense that we should all think alike.) But, instead, we often resort to ad hominem attacks and the victim card.
Disagreement does not equal suppression. Disagreement does not equal a violation of our First Amendment rights. Disagreement is not a personal attack on us. Disagreement simply means that people subscribe to different ideals. What’s so fun about having everyone agree with us? How is that helping us to grow? Learn? Challenge ourselves?
Photo by H Heyerlein
Next time we consider pulling out the “I’m the victim here” card, remember that we weave the tapestry of our own destiny. We can either choose to wait for the world to save us or do something to change circumstances. Don’t whine. Be an upstander. Bring about change not because you want national recognition, but because it is the human thing to do.