By Jenna Finney
So this is the essence of my college career, and it is hard to trace and hard to explain and hard even at times to maintain. But there is no harm in trying, they say, so I will attempt to do all of these.
I sat in Buckley Auditorium yesterday intending to draw conclusions and reveal life's answers from that panel of people who are older than I and undoubtedly wiser, because the words of Dr. Masson are true: we look to those who have experienced the past to help us in this world of the future, "...the young cannot see the world as it is. They want insight as well as sight."
I have done this in many scenarios over the past four years, and the answers have not often come quickly or at once. But I have been patient, and over time they have come in a methodical sequence and thoughtful piecing together of words. In this case, words from a letter and words from a panel about ROTC, Ethics, and the Military.
Opening remarks were given and my mind wandered as it often does. I sat by the river and read these words: "I send a blessing to you to move into the world working for social justice, never forgetting the worth of any human being, no matter the effects of their deeds. I have learned through my life to measure my responses to injustice by whether I also see the humanity of those who oppress. This form of transcendental radicalism provides a model for world of what peace, truth, and justice can truly accomplish."
The very first professor I had at the University of Portland, Dr. Thacker, in my freshman "8:10 drag-ourselves-in-our-pajama-bottoms-to-class time," had summed it up - had hit on the head what I was cultivating inside, but needed just one small affirming and guiding nod to allow it to become something visible and understandable. This idea was mentioned earlier in the weekend, we were talking in a small group and one of the members reminded me that we should not put people into a box. It is too easy to do, and when you avoid doing this is when you encounter some of the most beautiful people in your life, like my new friend Tom and my old friend Kyle.
I continued reflecting while voices in the auditorium created the backdrop for my thoughts. I remembered the cycle of my emotions over the years. How I began at UP, switching out of my education major almost immediately, feeling a classroom was too small and too square of a space to change the world. So I went to DC and I listened to politicians and I struggled through a semester feeling that the Metro was too fast, and the voices were too disconnected when they spoke of creating a better world while their public school children went without books and paper.
After that semester I turned. I went back to the source, to creating change at the most basic level. I found my calling planting corn and harvesting beets with a friend on his farm and I found my calm listening to a child explain why she colored the clouds blue and the sky white. I knelt to be at the level of the earth and level of the children, because if there is one thing needed in this world, it is humility.
My mind moved back to focus on my surroundings. I do not agree with violent means to solve problems, and I do not see eye to eye with many of the people in that auditorium yesterday, dressed formally in their uniforms. But I sat and was moved by one of those men in uniform when he looked to the crowd of eager and malleable individuals and said, "I would like to give you one thought. I hope it is a thought you can think about for the rest of the day and hopefully for the rest of your life. It is forgiveness. The pursuit of war and the pursuit of peace have not worked. We need the pursuit of forgiveness."
He said this in his army uniform, and I opened the box I had put him in; it was far too limited and I had acted far too quickly. If we are people trying to break barriers in the world, we cannot build them within ourselves. We may not agree or understand all others, but we can respect them. I believe this is the only way to reach a lasting peace.
Jenna Finney is a senior Spanish and political science major.
