Custom «The Convergence of College Campuses» Essay Paper Sample

Convergence is the aspect in which diverse religious, social and political worlds come to uniformity when subjected to similar conditions and environment. Students from various parts of the world are brought in close proximity by college campuses with an aim of pursuing education. Through college campuses, students get to develop trust and understanding for their fellow students irrespective of their religious, political and social differences.

Due to differences in culture and background, people never get to have a common ground of views, During discussions and interaction, students not only became indifferent but "they also seemed to be hungry to share, discuss, and consider diverse voices" (Minasian Para 2). Students' close proximity enables them to interact on a face-to-face basis through which they get to know each other more. This achieves a stronger sense of coexistence and understanding.

Integration of diverse social, political, and religious backgrounds in the end leads to a unified and productive society where different and varied ideas breed. This way, students are able to share opinions and understand other people's views on issues of concern. Nevertheless, different people have different opinions and are therefore curious to exchange ideas and learn from one another.

When a person responds to different points of view during discussions, his or her true character is revealed, which enables others to understand him or her more. When people are in discussion groups, they feel open to discuss and share their opinions if they are not subjected to intimidation and judgment. However, "these sessions are not intended to necessarily change minds as much as they are an invitation to learn how to respectfully disagree" (Minasian Para 5).

Religious traditions that are universally accepted by all believers affect personal opinions that vary from one individual to another. In addition, religious traditions do not take into consideration individual's opinion on matters of the society. However, convergence seeks to adopt antidiscriminant opinion that accommodates diverse cultural differences unlike traditions that discriminate personal opinion. For example, several law courts are issuing gay rights to same sex marriages, resulting to antidiscriminant rules unlike religious traditions that draw boundaries in the society. This leads to oppression of varying public opinions due to complicated interaction between the society and religion.

The society needs to cultivate opportunities for students to understand that values, ethics, and morals are part of education. People should be able to achieve a common ground to their value and morals, which differ from one society to another and more so, from one individual to another.

The need to achieve a common ground on issues affecting the society is a necessity for the society to be able to develop and prevent future disagreement, unrest, or even wars. This is emphasized by Minasian who states that, 'perhaps finding common ground today means helping to avert a war tomorrow' (Minasian Para 10). For instance, an individual who views abortion as medical alternative and person who views abortion as murder may fail to achieve a common ground as regards to the legitimate public policy.

Religious traditions cannot lend themselves to compromise on finding solutions that are minimally acceptable to all sides. Failure to achieving a common ground may breed animosity and extremist individuals in the society.

Extra-curriculum activities need to be developed for students to learn how to make room for other people's opinions even though they may be different or in opposition of our own opinions. Therefore, it's "important to model for students how to make room for opinions other than our own, not to run away from the uncomfortable feelings that arise when we hear opinions we don't agree with" (Minasian, Para 9). Convergence of diverse opinions should however preserve and take care of values in a mindset of every unique and independent individual. In as much as a common ground is achieved, cultural identities should not be eroded to preserve people's original heritage.

Convergence of political, social, and religious may however influence a society negatively when there are no elaborate guidelines and rules. More often, individuals tend to look to others for information in order to be right. In this case, they may lose their personal and individual identity by adopting other people's identity that is different from their own. Individuals with independent opinions and views may also be deceived, leading to inability to judge on informed consent. Surely "it's possible to find common ground without agreeing on everything' (Minasian, Para 8).

Superior and majority opinions and ideology may change minds of people who have feelings of inferiority and have less mature social relationships. In this case, personal ambitions, uniqueness, and strengths are lost.

Religious non-compromise to solutions of achieving a common ground may also lead to rigidity and religious commitment, as believers may push relentlessly to put the society under religious ideals that may breed enormity. Moreover, it is vital to push for conformity in which the society strives to achieve a common ground that requires us to honestly exchange views, analyze opinions different from our own, and consider our views one among many.