For millennia, intellectuals, rulers and religious prophets have all professed the belief in the power of words. Playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote in the 19th century “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
However, this saying is an echo of a much older and broader intellectual tradition that transcends the confines of modern thought.
Speech, written or spoken, is central to all three major monotheistic faiths. A hadith of the Prophet Muhammad reads, “The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.”
Erasmus, a renaissance humanist, wrote, “There is no sworde to be feared more than the learned pen.”
Euripides, Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson and countless others have reaffirmed this same sentiment; the power of speech and intellect is greater than any act of violence or coercion.
Last week surprised me when a number of students criticized The Bona Venture for publishing controversial articles in the opinion section. Instead of receiving a flood of rebuttals, I listened to students calling for censorship.
Thankfully, we are fortunate enough to live in a country that protects freedom of speech and privileged enough to study at a university that cultivates the free exchange of ideas.
If you can’t handle having your worldview challenged, you can’t handle studying at a university. The role of a liberal arts education is to expand students’ worldviews by exposing them to the opinions of others.
The opinion section uniquely expresses the charism of the intellectual tradition by allowing students from all backgrounds to convey their views and perspectives on a variety of issues, regardless of how controversial.
In the past seven issues of the BV, there have been 10 times more rebuttals than last semester. Students are reading the newspaper and taking an interest in the issues discussed by other writers.
Controversial articles have power to provoke dialogue. The more controversial the opinion, the greater the dialogue around campus. As the opinion editor, I will continue to publish controversial opinions, and I encourage everyone to engage in difficult conversations if they disagree.
gruditj15@bonaventure.edu
