To the Editor:
I am writing in response to Jeff Deck's column, "The Name Game" [The Dartmouth, Oct. 9]. As a fellow recipient of the first name Jeffrey, I feel it is my grave responsibility to present another, more serious, view on the issue. In this time of raging social turmoil and wanton conformity, such concerns as the naming of our children should come to the forefront of America's political stage.
What seems to some like an amusing coincidence may actually represent a disturbing trend in Western nomenclature. As a dutiful member of the class of 2002, I read most of the classic novel, "Brave New World," by Aldous Huxley (whose unique name should shine as a beacon in this benighted age), during the first day of Orientation. Huxley's gripping literary message warns us of a future where originality no longer exists, especially in naming. I ask you, as you look across a sea of Jeffs, Sarahs and Kates, is that Brave New World so distant?
Attempting to cover up this shocking revelation, Deck and his liberal cohorts have conspired to trivialize this key social issue. Each laugh directed at this situation hides a hideous gash in America's social fabric. Without analyzing this clear warning sign, we cannot fully comprehend the subtleties of the situation.
Is the lack of originality a result of teenage parents bringing children into the world without considering the enormity of the naming crisis? Or has television violence devalued life to the point where we no longer consider individual names worth the effort?
In his misguided attempt at humor, my classmate has shown irresponsibility and a social attitude unbecoming in a Dartmouth student. But he is not the true villain. No, my fellow students, his article acts as but a mask for a far more sinister socioeconomic enemy. What evil, you ask, could be more sinister than this devious freshman? The answer lies before our eyes, even on this most prestigious of campuses.
It is antidisestablishmentarianism or possibly capitalism or anti-capitalism. In any case, its lackeys have, of late, established a strong foundation in the editorial section of America's oldest college newspaper! Fight it, friends! Fight it while you still can!
