Educate Me

Last night I went to a lecture on campus with my roommate(Erik) and his GF(Brianne). I didn't know anything about the speaker, except that she was going to talk about MLK and something or other about racism. I was pleasantly surprised at what she had to say. The speaker's name was Peggy McIntosh and her focus was on white privilege. Although I would be happy to write on this specific lecture, I had a realization. I love to learn. Of course I could care less about some of the classes I've had to take in college, but knowledge is something I am drawn to.
My freshman and sophomore year I went to several lectures like these. I absolutely love these. Before I ever went I would see fliers on boards around campus and think "what do they have to say that I would possibly want to hear." But eventually I darkened the doorway of one of these talks and I was blown away. The first lecture I went to was a man who was talking about his experiences in World War II. His name is Jack Van der Geest, and if you want to read an incredible story he has a book called "Was God on Vacation?" To give you a short rundown of his story he was sent to a concentration camp for resisting the Nazis. In the camp he was force to work in the experimental medical section of the camp where they experimented on humans. Eventually he decided to escape by hiding in a pile of dead bodies. While in the pile he overpowered and killed a guard and was able to escape. But once he was free he immediately joined the British and fought in the war. Check it out.
Another great talk I got to see was Salmon Rushdie. I don't know if there is a more prolific icon that has been to MSU. He had an amazing stance when it came to free speech. I personally don't think it is ok when KKK membered are allowed to speak hate and have the right to. But Salmon made a point of saying that free speech should be for everyone or no one. The example he used was when he wrote the Satanic Verses that angered the Ayatollah to the point that they put a price on his head and wanted him dead. At some point later the Ayatollah wanted to make a movie about Salmon depicting him as a horrible, cruel, and brutal man. Killing people for pleasure. But the movie had to be shown in England where Rushdie lived and he had to approve of the movie. Any sane person would just say no to a slanderous movie, but Salmon let the movie play. Amazing.
Sorry, again this was longwinded but my point is that there is so much to learn out there. There is so much that we should hear. If only we would take the time to allow people to speak to us.