The Elm

A recent interaction on the UMB campus highlights the need for unity and productive dialogue among University community members.

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It seems impossible for one to attend a prestigious higher-education institution like UMB and not enjoy interactions with the Kippah-wearing men. These people are humorous, incredibly hardworking, and open to friendly, short talks. One of these short talks, however, went the opposing way for me to the extent that made me question the spirit and sense of unity on our campus.

The comment “Remember us [Persians] in your prayers this Purim” was met with the response “Yeah, you were killing us” at our campus. Although one can easily appreciate the humor, there is a potential to discuss how different perspectives can undermine the unity that barely exists among us.

Purim commemorates the saving of the Jewish people of Persia from an attempt by a Persian empire official to massacre Jews in Persia. As Haman, the Persian official, plotted the killing of the Jewish people, Esther, the queen of Persia, revealed her Jewish identity to the king and flipped the page. The king decreed in favor of his Jewish people, and not only Haman but all involved in the attempt were terminated. Purim ended thousands of years ago, but divisive forces in the world seem to have survived.

Conflict of interests of politics — which should not have a place at UMB — can shape opposing perspectives among us, which can be detrimental to the health of relationships in our community. In the interaction mentioned above, for instance, from one perspective, Persians saved Jewish lives for the second time in history, while another might generalize Haman’s immorality to Persians.

The discussion over these perspectives may continue indefinitely, but this narrative suggests that the cure to the disease of prejudice is unity. If both sides of this narrative emphasized their unity in learning a profession over their respective backgrounds, their similarities would have offset their differences.

The body of humanity, as we have inherited it from the 20th century, is terribly wounded. Humankind suffered too many wars, conflicts, and massacres in such a short period of time, leaving us with an unbelievably divided and unjust world.

Democracy was an attempt to heal some of the wounds on the body of humanity, but it has had a side effect of producing minorities who are more easily isolated and targeted. The rise of extremism in recent years along with the minority-producing machines of today’s society should raise notable concern about what the 21st century will do to humanity.

Promotion of unity is one way to fight divisive forces in the society, and we, the UMB family, cannot promote unity unless we practice it heartfully within our community first. Our peers will not necessarily share the same perspectives with us on many subjects, but the power of unity will ease a productive dialogue between opposing perspectives. This column joins the theme of the U.S. president’s inauguration speech in rhetoric to a call for unity, but we need further education in behavioral sciences to practice it in real life.

Our education at UMB is so thoroughly focused on professional and technical factors of learning that behavioral competencies are unintentionally marginalized. As educators and educatees at UMB, we should admit that we are and need to be influential members of society — and with great influence comes great responsibility.

Technical competencies are fully provided to us, so why wouldn’t we seek more knowledge on behavioral sciences to fulfil our responsibility adequately?

Disclaimer: Elm Voices & Opinions articles reflect the thoughts or opinions of their individual authors, and may not represent the thoughts or values of UMB as an institution.