My Winter Carnival was almost entirely mindless fun. However, thanks to Saturday's New York Times editorial on religious faith, I couldn't help but do some thinking. I am not at all religious, and my family is the same way. While I've certainly pondered the Big Questions and reached my own conclusions, I have a creeping suspicion that my answers were predetermined the moment I was born. The logic of religion is easily digestible with a spark of faith and ludicrous without it. I see no place where I would have internalized that spark other than the environment I grew up in.
This train of thought led to further doubts about my role in choosing my convictions. In high school, I was embarrassingly condescending towards cheating on tests, but like many Dartmouth students, I never had to do much studying. I used to assume that if I had struggled more, my morals would have kept me from cheating, but that now seems nave -- wouldn't the large numbers of other people cheating have led me to doing the same?
My conviction that Dartmouth was the best choice for me was very much in the same vein. As much as I praise it, there are many, many great schools out there; and while I do love being here, it seems unavoidable that I only chose to come to Hanover because of a few well-timed suggestions from relatives and a great visit.
Needless to say, I found myself faced with a sinking feeling that I have vastly overestimated my influence on my life. There was hope, however. It is my belief that whenever one is faced with such overwhelming doubt and confusion, one man and one man only is there for you, is up for the task: Jon Stewart. In an interview with Tom Wolfe on "The Daily Show," Stewart suggested that the modern college student lives by a combination of "ambition and hedonism."
By God, Jon, I think you're onto something. If my doubts hold water, and we are slaves to our environment, what better personal philosophy than simply living in the moment and making the best of your situation? Rather than worry about how much control I had over where I am today, why not be as successful and have as much fun as possible?
Such a philosophy seems, at first glance, to be morally remiss. What about our obligations to others, to give back? Bearing that in mind, I ask, "If you woke up tomorrow hell-bent on doing the greatest good for the greatest number, what would be the best course of action?" Although a lifetime of soup kitchen volunteering may come to mind, politics or business seem the best ways to amass sufficient influence and resources to effect truly sweeping change -- look at what Bill Gates has done. Thus, while embracing ambition may not be ideal, it isn't immoral.
That same philosophy opened my eyes to a crazy idea. The utilitarian theory of morality demands that I make as many people as happy as possible, but it had never occurred to me that even in such a framework, I, too, count as a person whose happiness deserves concern. Therefore, the second part of my Jon Stewart-inspired personal philosophy also has its place morally. Who would've thought -- eating froyo and playing videogames as a morally admirable act. Of course, I'm not seriously equating hedonism with charity, but -- actually, that sounds awesome.
I am not, of course, the first person to have this idea. It is, in fact, a large part of what Dartmouth is about. Students aim high, have fun and retain a healthy concern for giving back. The first two ideas are self-evident, and for the third I would point to our almost unequalled rate of Peace Corps volunteering. I hate to be the millionth person to gush about Dartmouth's thriving work hard/play hard ethos, but that's exactly what Jon Stewart was talking about, and I can't think of a better way to live.
My opinion on this matters little. F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, like Ron Burgundy, is kind of a big deal. I'm not saying he would endorse my ideas, but the fact is that he came and partied hard over Winter Carnival back in the day. He also, as it turns out, wrote a decent book or two. The author of the Great American Novel worked hard and played hard, and (at least for one weekend) he did it at Dartmouth. Maybe this school is the perfect choice, after all.
