Taylor Walding
Variety Editor
Throughout my three-year run with the Trop, I have avoided opinion writing like the plague. In person, I enjoy controversy and debate but stirring it up with an unknown audience behind computer screens seems far more daunting to me than a face-to-face discussion.
Online debates further perpetuate an already polarized culture, leaving persons feeling as though they need to walk on eggshells around colleagues, classmates and strangers.
When writing for sports, news, features or other sections, there’s less ownership of the content produced because you’re not reporting your own ideas, but rather attributing everything to the sources you consulted. There’s no inserting yourself and your beliefs into the stories.
On the contrary, with opinion writing, it’s all on you. I take that kind of responsibility seriously. God forbid I misspeak and leave a legacy of faulty information online forever.
You can imagine my hesitation when Pradyot Sharma, the opinion editor, pitched the idea for this column to me. He suggested I write a regular online column to share my perspective on global issues and communicate it with a general audience, rather than a niche group of Christians.
This isn’t an appeal to religion, but rather a way to start a conversation on how faith, like for many others in society, drives my perspective of the world and the challenges it faces.
Faith is the most essential part of me, yet I have time and time again been told to separate my Christian faith from the workplace, classroom, etc. To ask someone to just switch off their worldview for the sake others’ comfort seems a bit ridiculous, but that favor is exactly what many people expect.
Christianity isn’t just something I do on Sunday mornings. It flows into all aspects of my life, thoughts and decision-making processes. It gives hope in times of tragedy and guidance in times of uncertainty.
Although, like anyone, I have a natural conscience to distinguish right and wrong to some degree, my moral compass is strengthened and clarified by Christ’s teachings. All of which plays into how I perceive societal controversies and cultural discussions.
I love writing about the historic Christian faith and its implications on modern day life. This column will act as an in-between, voicing to a broader audience how my Christian beliefs propel my worldview and shape my perception of social issues.
Perhaps by speaking from an individualized perspective, rather than associating with a particular party or politician, I can open up a healthy conversation, rather than further polarize an already tense culture.
Taylor Walding is the Variety Editor for the Tropolitan. She is a senior communication major and multimedia journalism minor. Taylor blogs at digdeepertheology.blogspot.com.
