The Chairman of China, Xi Jin Ping once said that, to foreigners, there is not one China, but a thousand different slices of China. What a profound phrase! There are indeed many ways to look at society. One sees society through one's lens which has been shaped by one's values and beliefs.
Sociology is the study of society. Hence, in sociology, one of the subjects which I have studied, social theories are taught. There are many ways to look at society, and this is no cliche. Sometimes, what others interpret as a lack of something, may not be seen as an issue by another because the latter believes the lack is not a lack at all.
For example, people in Asia do not talk about rights. Instead, these people talk about communalistic obligations. People in the West may see this a dangerous because it leads to entrenched discrimination because people are not able to fight for what they see as rights. However, people from communalistic societies could argue that allowing people to fight for rights leads to unacceptable selfish behaviour and does not stop discrimination. Different social groups have a different framework of thinking, and hence a different social structure.
Sociology courses in Western universities are based on humanistic, rights-based framework. It is not an objective ideology that all must submit to, but a subjective one. It is a perspective. The dangerous thing about sociology courses is that lecturers are in a position to indoctrinate students with ideologies that are dangerous - ones that incite hatred against certain groups who are against the liberal regime, in the guise of tolerance. Tolerance, in which one must support certain minorities and hate those who are against them. This is the hidden agenda that infiltrates modern universities - the intolerance of tolerance.
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