Beer is not the only thing clouding the minds of Loyola students. Another subtler assaulter plagues the psyches of socially concerned college students everywhere, but perhaps more so at a self-proclaimed social justice university: over-conviction.
Yes, the quiet disease of unfocused, scattered “-isms” that vehemently categorize the moral positions of college students is crossing the nation.
“I am an anti-consumerism, environment-minded, equalist vegetarian democrat with socialist tendencies and highly liberal sentiments.”
I would have to assert that spreading oneself too thin and too intensely among numerous moral, political and social convictions is barely a step up from having no concrete ideals whatsoever. One conviction results in confusion and frequent contradiction, the other in laziness, but both in a damaging close-mindedness.
I don’t quite understand how someone might commit himself or herself to so many “-isms.” I get flustered choosing among Odwalla flavors, let alone making a distinction between pro-life and pro-choice.
It seems that the best way to be both sane and actively informed is to create and add to one’s convictions as moral forks in the road arise, not before you’ve had a chance to fully understand an issue. This way you don’t commit yourself to issues that you aren’t fully invested in and avoid being a stressed out, hardly-active activist with his sign in one too many picket lines.
The other danger of over-conviction lies in an over-intense devotion to a belief. Even the most liberal of liberals can be a close-minded zealot if he so tightly clings to his opinions that he no longer considers changing or even expanding his views. Narrow thinking is narrow thinking, whether you’re a neo-Nazi or a crazed animal rights protester. I have found that a single person or experience can alter former unshakable convictions, so remaining open to such a change seems like it would be beneficial to a fledgling concerned citizen.
This is not to say that one shouldn’t develop a solid set of beliefs and opinions. Conviction, if executed well, is necessary to not being an uninformed, unconcerned dullard.
Not choosing a side can be cowardly, and apathy is as good as agreement, but even in matters of morality, sometimes moderation and middle-of-the-road thinking can be key.
And, if working out your convictions for yourself is too difficult a task, I have recently discovered that there are online quizzes to determine which political and religious affiliation are best suited to your personality. The Internet solves everything.
Opinions, convictions and the whole spectrum of ideology are necessary to a growing conscience but they shouldn’t be a hindrance or an introduction to close-mindedness. It seems that if you believe in what feels right to you, you can’t wander too far from good.
To quote Ferris Bueller (quoting John Lennon), “I don’t believe in the Beatles, I just believe in me.” Replace “the Beatles” with “excessive and unfocused idealism” and you have a recipe for socially conscious success. Be the walrus.
