Yeah. We thought so too.

For example, we were talking to some Canadian students … How often do you find yourself complaining about Canada while talking with American students at Calvin?

The answer: not too often. While at home however, these same Canadians admitted to finding fault with many aspects of Canadian life. The same could be said of students from all countries.

When someone complains about something that makes us who we are, we’ll emotionally defend it until the bitter end, even if we disagree.

“Hey! Don’t threaten my brother! I’m the only one who gets to beat him up!” This stereotyped phrase is exemplary of the this “ontological dichotomy.” (Note: We know that this phrase makes little to no sense...but we like it. And we always wanted to be philosophy majors.) In junior high schools around the world, pubescent kids complain, “Dude, I hate my mom, man. She’s such a jerk. I’m not even allowed to go to Stookey’s co-ed slumber party on Friday.”

“Yeah, dude man, like, your mom, is a total witch.”

“Shut-up you moron. At least my mom doesn’t have three breasts!”

“Yeah, she has one!!”

BAM. And a fight ensues.

At Calvin College, we read letters in Chimes every week that argue the morals we, as students at a Christian college, should uphold. There are frequent and heated arguments concerning the decline of our “Christian values.” But what if we were elsewhere and someone dared to say something like, “Oh, Calvin. You guys smoke/dance/listen to devil music. Well, that’s not really a Christian school”? We would immediately have dozens of arguments against that statement. Even if we have often worried about the same thing or about issues, we become Calvin’s greatest spokesperson.

Our overall personal feelings for a person, place, idea, or issue (i.e. loving Calvin/Canada/devil music/our moms/Stookey) often make us close our minds to any of the opposing views which may raise some perfectly valid points. Often those disconnected with whatever we hold dear might have some valid and insightful things to critique. Plus, it is actually possible that we may not only find some solutions to our own problems with the institution or person or whatever, but also, have established a more productive way of communicating.