The semester is coming to an end. In the typical fashion of college students, most of us are very excited of the prospect of a few weeks off and one more semester behind us. This will be my final semester at ASU, I will be graduating in December. The path for my degree has spanned 10 years, two colleges, and 4 campuses. In that time I have had my fair share of studies with 13 semesters of classes. While I look at those courses and the knowledge that they gave me, it pales in comparison to what my life has told me in that same amount of time. While 120 credits is a lofty accomplishment, it is one without contrast. In those same 10 years I became a United States Marine, a professional in the corporate world, a husband, and a father. I came into the Fall 2014 semester solely looking to check a box that has remained empty for 4 years. I got a lot more than that. What I have gotten from the Fall 2014 semester and POS 394 is something simple, yet provocative. In the last 13 weeks, I have learned contrast.
Contrast by definition is: “the state of being strikingly different from something else, typically something in juxtaposition or close association”. What the heck can I mean by that?
I have seen, heard, and felt strikingly different views and interpretations from the same readings. For 10 weeks we have all been assigned the same readings, yet each week we all have taken different values, focuses, concerns, and priorities from each. At times these views have been contrasting. We had conflicting views but were never able to prove anyone wrong or incorrect. We all chose to not only be different, but to accept that in others. We began to see the contrast.
There are clear and evident reasons why we hold diverse views and opinions. Each of us come from different faiths, races, economic statuses, professions, experiences, and even decades. But for two hours and forty-five minutes a week, we are pretty much the same; just lowly students at the ASU’s West Campus. Each week some people shared and others listened, but I bet that we all had a few “that’s a good point” or “I never thought of it that way” moments. Each week we walked into that room and brought with us the experiences of our lives, positive and negative. Some shared vocally, others with a few keystrokes, but they all had impact. Everyone said something at least once, and it always mattered, it always had weight, because it was their experience. Rarely, did we all agree. The deeper we dug the more contrast we found.
I love this newly found contrast in my life. It began as the contrast of me 10 years ago. I was an eager 19 year-old who thought he had the world on a string. I look back at so much of those experiences and think that I would never do them again (I messed up quite a bit), but I am damn glad I did. I celebrate the contrast in me since it shows growth. It took this semester to want to celebrate that contrast between myself and others. While we never did figure out who was right, there were a few things we never spoke about in a negative light. While morality may be subjective, a few other things aren’t really. Tolerance, understanding, and working together have proven to be pretty universal. Contrast may be how we measure the difference between things, but it has nothing to do with right or wrong. Contrast only quantifies the difference.
Often, contrast only relates to the difference between light and dark.
Morality and Politics 