President Ahadinejad at Columbia
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke today at Columbia University in New York City despite complaints from many influential people. On the list of opponents of this speaking engagement were several city council members for New York, several professors at Columbia, Henry Kissinger, and large crowds that gathered around in protest. The complaints stemmed from Ahmadinejad’s positions on the Holocaust, the state of Israel, and homosexuality. More or less, people did not want to let him speak because of Iran’s common association with terrorism and instability in the Middle East.
Despite all of these protests, the president of Columbia still invited Ahmadinejad to speak, an action for which I applaud him. I do not mean to say that I support the views of Ahmadinejad, who claims that there is insufficient evidence to support the existence of the Holocaust. I simply believe that it is important for Americans, especially young Americans, to learn a broad view of the world at large. It is important to hear unadulterated views about important global events, especially when it is ever more difficult to believe what our own leaders here in this country are telling us.
Most of what President Ahmadinejad said was complete garbage: fictitious ravings from an unbelievably biased source with obvious intent to sway public opinion. Nonetheless, it is important to hear what he has to say. The American public can learn from such view points. Imagine the reception that President Bush would receive if he were to go speak at an Iranian university. In order to be responsible citizens and to understand the world in which we live, we must listen to what leaders from around the world have to say, no matter how biased they may be.
Mike Kean, former Sergeant at Arms.
September 30th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Has anyone noticed a correlation between Ahmadinejad’s claim that there are no homosexuals in Iran and President Bush’s call for an amendment prohibiting gay marriage?