Summary
In his “The Profound Emptiness of Resilience,” Parul Seghal wonders about the true meaning of the word “resilience”. The word is constantly being used in company mission statements and political campaigns. In 2015, the buzzword has taken on a more hollow meaning because of its overuse. Seghal focuses on the irony of the our world’s contradiction. While true resilience on college campuses has gone down tremendously, the usage of the word resilience as an adjective to describe people in 2015 has gone up! Seghal uses James Kirchick’s piece in Tablet as proof. Kirchick talks about how true resilience was exemplified by James Meredith, who went to Mississippi University as the first black student enrolled. Meredith exhibited supreme bravery and courage, standing tall above the racial slurs and criticism that came his way. Kirchick is astounded that today’s college students could feel “marginalized” in 2015, because their current plight pales in comparison to Meredith’s situation.
Response
I tend to disagree with Seghal about the overuse of “resilience” in 2015 and that it has lost its meaning. It all depends on the circumstances. During the civil rights era, it was acceptable for an African-American to be taunted on a university campus. Today, all races are presumably treated equally. However, this is not always the case. In these racial harassment cases, victims have the right to report and get upset. Even though their suffering is incomparable to that of Meredith, they are still being negatively affected by the color of their skin. As a Jew, I especially disagree with Seghal’s observations. There are always anti-semitic incidents and anti-Israel movements on college campuses. Jewish high schools and youth institutions take special care to instill a strong “resilience” in their Jewish teens, because that strength is necessary to succeed on higher education campuses. Time and time again, Jewish college students exude that resilience and it helps them feel comfortable with their religion on campus. It is okay to report instances of racial discrimination. It does not mean you are soft and do not have resilience, but it shows a logical response to the bully.
One of the mantras of Martin Luther King in his civil rights push was “civil disobedience.” This is defined as the peaceful resistance of racial discrimination. In other words, fighting back in a violent way is not going to help anyone, rather it will strengthen animosity on both sides. The answer is nonviolent pushback, such as rallies and boycotts. This is what you see on college campuses today. Instead of fighting back violently, which is not the answer, you see more rallies and speeches. This is still resilience. It is excellent resilience, contrary to what Seghal says in his article. Resilience is shown each and every day by African-American and minority college students who are at a social disadvantage each and every day.
Citation
Sehgal, Parul. "The Profound Emptiness of ‘Resilience’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 1 Dec. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
