Resist urge to make personal attacks
'I watched them tear a building down,
A gang of men in a lonely town,
With a ho-heave-ho and a mighty yell,
They swung a beam and the side wall fell.
'I asked their foreman, 'are these men skilled?'
'Men you'd hire if you had to build?'
He gave a laugh and said, 'no, indeed.'
'Common labor is all I need.'
'Why I can easily wreck in a day or two'
'What builders have taken years to do.'
Then I thought to myself as I went on my way
Which of these roles do I try to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life with rules and square,
Shaping my deeds to a well made plan,
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?'
The above poem was posted on a bulletin board at the City Hall in Fenton, Mich. So long as an individual is a positive contributor to the community, he or she is a builder. In a more subtle sense, everyone who shares their ideas with the community aspires to be a builder.
In the readers' forum, we see the views and opinions of fellow students. Sometimes, we agree with their assertions; sometimes, we don't; sometimes, their insights surprise us. No matter the response, in the building process our own perspectives are fortified, realigned or challenged.
We've had the pleasure of reading all your letters to The Daily Universe. We can tell you are very passionate about the topics you'd select - otherwise you wouldn't have bothered writing. Passion implies strong feelings about values and beliefs; passion can inspire strong writing and profound thought. Lately, the Honor Code discussion has resurfaced in the readers' forum. We see the same strength of feeling in each of the letters we received, but we also see that sometimes strength of feelings flows in the wrong direction.
As we discuss ideas we need to remember to differentiate the issue from the person addressing the issue. A recent e-mail stated, 'Lucifer had good ideas for making sure people met the standards as well. Maybe should have chosen his plan.' Others e-mails included lines like 'You disgust me,' and, 'in my book you are slime.' Name-calling has no place in civilized debate.
However strong our feelings may be about any particular issue, we should not project those feelings onto the people we disagree with. As we carry on the public discussion, let's aspire to be builders of ideas and not wreckers of persons. The person who wrote the letter is not the person you should take issue with, but rather the viewpoint itself.