The godfather of dialogue: We hope Herman Cain’s talk today sparks productive conversation

In the four years seniors have been on this campus, there has been a marked dearth of dialogue stemming from conservative speakers.

This might be due to a general lack of conservative speakers. But there’s a chance it has to do with the kind of conservatives usually brought to — and heavily publicized — on campus.

Today, however, the campus community might be able to start chipping away at this trend. At 4 p.m. in Biomolecular 2204 in the School of Medicine, Herman Cain will speak.

We hope the pizza-chain-CEO-turned-talk-show-host and former Republican presidential candidate can give a thoughtful speech.

Ideally, it will stimulate conversation between students, no matter their political leanings.

This would mark a victory on two fronts. First, it would show that conservative students at UNC persevered in finding someone to speak about conservatism on a largely liberal campus.

The second victory is that a speaker was finally chosen who might — if we’re lucky — create dialogue instead of stifling it.

Cain isn’t the most accepting person in the world (he supports continuing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and a ban on gay marriage), but he is far more open to entertaining opposing views than the Ann Coulters, Tom Tancredos and David Horowitzes of the world.

Cain once explained: “I can have an opinion on an issue without it being a directive on the nation … The government shouldn’t be trying to tell people everything to do, especially when it comes to a social decision that they need to make.”

This shows Cain’s willingness to acknowledge the validity of opinions he doesn’t agree with — the first and most important step toward creating dialogue.

Nevertheless, the fact that Cain’s speech may be the first good chance in recent years for productive discussion following a high-profile conservative speaker is a little sad. Is he really the best UNC can do?

Why haven’t we been able to draw more moderate conservative voices that don’t represent the increasingly extreme direction the GOP has taken?

If nothing else, this is a start. Cain at least acknowledges that beliefs other than his own can be legitimate. That’s how conversation starts.