Over the years, The Cougar has received a lot of feedback regarding the opinion page’s “lack of conservative voices.”
Quite frankly, I agree with those who say this. There needs to be more input from all different points of view; whether it be liberal, conservative, communist or evangelical.
I consider myself a pretty open-minded person. As a political science major, I make it my mission to become familiar with different viewpoints. This helps me make more informed conclusions about issues, both complicated and mundane.
Unfortunately, colleges tend to be filled with many liberal minds, and those liberal minds tend to be the most vocal. This is just a byproduct of youth.
Harris County, in particular, is actually more liberal than most of Texas. This is shown by the fact that Obama carried Houston in both the 2008 and 2012 elections.
This isn’t to say that UH is filled with a majority of “liberal-minded” people. We are in fact the second most diverse university in the nation — something I am particularly proud of.
What this means is that our readers have a vast variety of differing perspectives.
The bottom line is, there’s no way we can cater to every ideology when those with opposing viewpoints aren’t stepping up to write for this organization.
I welcome all different viewpoints for The Cougar. I don’t have to agree with all of them, but that doesn’t mean their opinions are less valid than mine.
So if you have a difference in opinion, then come apply to write for us. The opinion page is meant to be a place where everyone’s opinion is heard, regardless of how controversial the position may be.
—Anthony Torres, opinion editor
The problem with most heavily opinionated people is that they tend to only ever see one side of an argument as “the right side” without ever considering the other side of the issue or all of the gray areas in between for that matter. You will never get someone who is far left to listen to someone who is far right and you will never get someone who is far right to listen to someone who is far left.
It may be a tall order, but you really should be looking for more central thinking people who question their own views and make their decisions based on what they observe or what is factual. Not people who deign themselves left or right on the basis of political or religious belief.
Just some food for thought.
Conservatism is a disease!
I wish you the best of luck, especially considering the generally hostile atmosphere on most college campuses toward those who might have put some thought into their views. You can go as far as the second post here to see what I mean.