Lee Culpepper
Monday I watched in disgust the wickedness that throttled the Virginia Tech campus that I once roamed. I was carefree and brash in those days, but since then I have developed a humble appreciation for the education Tech provided me. My heart mourns for Hokies everywhere, but more so for the students and faculty gunned down by evil. I cannot imagine the grief those thirty-two devastated families are feeling. I also mourn for the family of the murderer; they are most likely victims, as well. On the other hand, I recognize that my sympathy for his parents could change as facts are revealed. Regardless, Virginia Tech, like the University of Texas and Columbine High School, will ultimately endure the evil that surfaced, but those thirty-two Hokies’ lives were stolen forever.
I wondered immediately how much the “don’t-judge-me, you-don’t-know-me climate” factors into Tech’s horror. What’s the point in having a brain when America’s “climate of tolerance” pressures us not to use it? Our ability to reason is a responsibility, not a luxury, but the don’t-judge-me establishment shackles common sense and maims critical thinking. The mindless chant of tolerance promotes an idea that feelings are equal to rational thought. Furthermore, to disapprove of someone else’s queer behaviors – which today are passing deceptively as “misunderstood cultures” – reflects negatively on us if we show the courage to express our honest thinking. Consequently, we “feel” we better stay quiet, particularly if judging harshly any culture except traditional American culture. Nevertheless, we make ourselves vulnerable to danger and evil when we suppress reason because we feel obligated to tolerate inappropriate behavior – which again is often just cleverly excused as one’s culture or unique eccentricity.
Having taught analytical writing, I used the “don’t-judge-me issue” to strike a nerve with my students. The drumbeat of tolerance that resonates in public schools has conditioned many young minds not to think and certainly not to judge. However, my point during these discussions focused on the need to use facts to formulate meaningful arguments and logical judgments. I tried to emphasize how simply feeling a certain way exposes us to danger, whether that danger is common ignorance or physical harm. Many students don’t appreciate the difference between reasoned arguments and flaky opinions. I asserted that we have to analyze available facts and to act on them, not to trust or to act on impulsive emotions or mushy feelings. We have to differentiate between our brains and our hearts when we are thinking.
I told my students that we also have to accept the consequences for the decisions we make. For example, the way we dress or wear our hair and the things we say or the way we behave are sometimes the only facts that other people have to make judgments about us. I drew the parallel between the facts individuals reveal in life and what authors reveal in literature. I challenged them to explain why we’re not supposed to use the evidence people present to us either verbally or visually to draw conclusions about them as individuals. The lesson helped students understand how they must pick specific words or sentences to explain how they arrived at their conclusions regarding literature. More importantly, however, I believed the lesson helped them to make better decision in their lives.
One example I often used dealt with relationships. I would describe a relationship that was unhealthy. One individual lied, abused drugs, behaved violently, encouraged bad behavior in the other person, and so forth. I would ask them why on earth anyone would stay in such a relationship. We would discuss the difference between the feelings we might have in such a situation versus the facts we knew to be true. I generally concluded by stating that we all face decisions we have to make; but based on our decisions, everyone else has a responsibility to judge us based on what they know. Not judging others wisely can invite needless troubles into one’s life, but I emphasized that responsible judgments hinge on facts — not feelings.
As for Virginia Tech, the murderer there behaved so strangely that one professor had him removed from her class. Another professor who tutored him had a code word with her assistant in case she felt threatened. On the other hand, his young roommates concluded that his strange behavior might have something to do with his being Asian. That conclusion shocked me. I cannot imagine being forced to live with someone who refused to speak to me or even to look at me; I don’t care what “culture” he’s from. Why should anyone be forced to be so tolerant? Furthermore, where did his roommates acquire this level of tolerance for such bizarre “cultural” behavior? Why didn’t the more experienced professors draw such unfortunate and tolerant conclusions? Clearly many questions regarding tolerance and logical judgments must be answered at Tech; but meanwhile the tolerant climate of “don’t judge me” or don’t dare to think continues to victimize America.
Once all the facts are uncovered in Blacksburg, I am praying the officials there will all be judged fairly. On the other hand, if the mindless demand for tolerance continues to trounce the logical judgment of facts, I fear America risks even far greater tragedy than the horror inflicted on the once pristine campus that provided all other Hokies and me opportunities, but more importantly encouraged us to think.
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Lee Culpepper is currently writing his first book, Alone and Unafraid: One Marine’s Counterattack Inside the Walls of Public Education. Additionally, he is a contributing columnist for The Publius’ Forum, The North Carolina Conservative, and The Hinzsight Report.
A 1991 graduate of Virginia Tech, Culpepper majored in both English and Communication. He was also a varsity wrestler. He attended the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia, and received his commission in 1993. He served four years on active duty before settling in southern California to begin his teaching career. He taught high school English in both California and Texas. He recently moved to eastern North Carolina with his wife, Heather, and their bulldog, Shrek.
Lee can be reached at drcoolpepper@yahoo.com.
Visit Lee’s blog at http://wlculpepper.townhall.com/