Seton Hall Magazine, Winter 2000 - Seton Hall University

P o l i t i c s
“We have a common sky. A common firmament
encompasses us. What matters it by
what kind of learned theory each man looketh
for the truth? There is no one way that will
take us to so mighty a secret.”
Symmachus, on replacing the statue of
victory in the Roman Forum, A.D. 384
It is difficult to imagine a transition of
similar magnitude to that described
by Symmachus more than 1,500 years
ago. Such paradigmatic shifts transform
human reality and the arena within
which we shape our world. As we turn
toward the third millennium, what is our
reality and how do we work within it?
We live in a pluralistic society where
competing interests vie for the right
to exercise power. The founders were
optimistic about this method of resolution.
Granted our reality is considerably
different from theirs — still it is
difficult to imagine a better method of
determining who gets what, when and
how in a free society.
If pluralism describes our reality, how
do we work within it? A quick review
of the 20th century shows myriad
developments of political consciousness.
Consider, for example, the rights
of workers, women, children, and gay
and lesbian men and women, and how
these individuals acting in collectives
pushed their way into the political arena.
Take a moment to recall the Civil Rights
movement, the pursuit of universal suffrage,
even Prohibition or the work of
the Moral Majority. I believe that the
20th century will be remembered in
many different ways, but it is also a time
in our country where groups began to
assert themselves without qualification.
There has been considerable resistance,
but healthy pluralism provides opportunities
for the disenfranchised to find a
voice and to demand that it be heard.
Now, what comes of these seemingly
uncompromising voices? The time has
20 SETON HALL UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
E Pluribus Unum:
Let Us Put Meaning into Pluralism
BY W. KING MOTT, PH.D.
come to put meaning into
pluralism. We must reconsider our
public conversation. No longer is it
enough to acquire a voice or position at
the table. As important as that is, it is
more important, as any good host knows,
to focus upon the details of the meal —
the meaningful course here is the graciousness
found in genuine conversation.
What makes genuine conversation?
Consider this: If I have no intention of
changing anything about me when I
speak with you, then we are not equals
in dialogue. Genuine conversation
involves conversion, and conversion happens
in the context of considering our
mutual advantage — the common good.
So we come to what prevents us from
discussing the common good: the fear
that I may be wrong and the concurrent
requirement of acknowledging that
wrong and making reparation.
Once converted to the common good,
action and the idea of community are
possible. Meanwhile, we cannot afford to
idly comply with all that characterizes
our world, or retreat into our high-rise
apartments or gated suburban communities.
To do so is sectarian and foolish.
The notion that we should work for the
common good is more than an abstraction
with little immediate applicability.
The truest test is our willingness to
begin meaningful conversations within
the family, the workplace and, perhaps
most importantly, within our own hearts.
Needless to say, conversation as conversion
requires a radical departure from
current practice, but if we desire something
more than the politics of blame
and denial, I see no other alternative and
neither, I believe, does Yeats.
The Spur
W.B. Yeats
You think it horrible that lust and rage
Should dance attendance upon my old age;
They were not such a plague when I was young;
What else have I to spur me into song?
W. King Mott, Ph.D. is dean
of Freshman Studies and
academic support services.
BECKY HEAVNER