Dr. Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) and a Christian, spoke out against “safe spaces” and trigger warnings now used on college campuses. Piper says that OKWU is a “place to learn and be taught how to be selfless and not self-centered.”
Dr. Piper addressed that by refusing to live by “big laws,” “little laws” fill the vacuum, which is not good for society. For instance, “little laws” are now telling us which bathroom to use. Clearly this is rooted back to wanting to defy “big laws” and using man-made laws to govern society instead; which ends up coming down to the most minuscule law and thus can result in a total government takeover of individuality.
Piper also said that liberals demand conformity, hence the left waving around the banner of tolerance, but are intolerant when trying to communicate that message. Piper states that this tactic does not make you a champion of your own ideas, but rather a hypocrite and one who is intolerant.
During Q/A, Dr. Piper gave advice on how the right should address opposition, but without stooping down to their level of hatred and violence. He said one must be quiet (i.e. listen) and force the answer (i.e. push the “why”) because that will put the pressure on them to defend their view and you’ll be able to engage in conversation, and maybe even prove your point, without attacking the opposition.
Dr. Piper closed with a powerful distinction. He said there is a difference between tolerance and love. Tolerance means “I don’t care what you do” and love means “I care what you do and if it’s wrong I’m going to stop you.” This relates to today’s issues on college campuses because, like Christ, we should love our neighbor as ourselves and if they’re acting in a way that is unjust or wrong we have a moral duty to stop them.
Therefore, we need to have less “coddling” of students on college campuses and allow them to enjoy intellectual freedom without limiting their exposure to outside ideas.
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