College students' reputation for idealism enjoys a mixed record. Many "adults" respect the passion with which college students pursue their political and social goals, while ridiculing the fanciful and unattainable nature of those goals. It's a difficult position. College students have the fervor and the passion to change the world, but lack the resources to do so. From a small town in rural New Hampshire, what can we do to make the world a better place?
The answer is quite a bit, provided you come here with the right kind of idealism and keep a few important truths in mind.
First, however, I want to try to paint my interpretation of the bigger picture for you.
As you prepare to come to Hanover, events are taking place in the world which will affect every day of your four years at Dartmouth and every day of your life. Over 100,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq. Recent terror attacks in London, Egypt and Iraq have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. A man who's young enough to serve for 30 years on the Supreme Court is preparing for his confirmation hearings. Congress' approval of the Central American Free Trade Agreement will open a new region of the world to trade unencumbered by tariffs or, some would argue, by environmental and labor laws. Big things are happening in the world.
Big things are happening in America, too, although it might require a little more effort to realize their tremendous importance on politics and society.
It bothers me that the media outlets -- CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. -- through which most Americans receive their news are untrustworthy and biased, whether or not they like to admit it.
It bothers me that the advancement of partisan ideologies at any cost takes precedence over pragmatism and cooperation among adherents of disparate political philosophies in American politics.
It bothers me that partisan hackery extends from student political groups to Capitol Hill.
It really bothers me that politics isn't about truth or about honest value comparisons among competing views, but rather about conforming facts to opinion, shaping perception and raking the other side over the coals.
It bothers me to no end that more Americans could give you the play-by-play analysis of Michael Jackson's trial or tell you who won each of the last three seasons of American Idol than could tell you about the resumption of negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear arsenal.
I hope these things bother you too. They're big problems that are not going to be easy to change. It's going to take the sort of enthusiasm that infuses college idealism and a belief in the transformative power of ideas to change them.
That's where the right kind of idealism comes in. Here's my opinion of what exactly constitutes that idealism:
1) Have a clear conception of what you want to accomplish. Know what you want your end result to be, and recognize that it might not be possible to achieve it.
2) Know why you want to do what you want to do. Understand what motivates you.
3) Make sure that it makes sense. Reason it out. Don't rely on emotions to gauge the truth-content of your goal. If you want to alleviate world poverty, spend some time learning the best and most efficient way to do that. You may have a gut reaction against free trade and economics, but you need to seriously consider them as highly viable options to achieve your goal. Remember, believing in something -- no matter how passionately you believe in it -- does not necessarily make it so. It's very important to be willing to change your mind and admit that you were wrong if the evidence (objectively considered) indicates that your stance is not the best.
4) Be pragmatic. Using the same example, you can't end world hunger. It's not possible now, and probably won't be any time soon. It is possible to improve the situation and to put in place policies and structures that will accelerate the rate of improvement, but change is never all or nothing. Accept incrementalism as a way of life. Be willing to compromise -- it's much easier, enjoyable and more effective to work with others than against them.
It may seem that pragmatism and idealism are mutually exclusive, but that's not the case. Enough incremental changes reshape the entire world.
5) Changing anything will require more work than you can imagine. This is true by virtue of the nature of change, but also because you're going to find so many great ways to spend your time here. It's incredibly difficult to single-mindedly devote yourself to any one pursuit. Moreover, I don't think you should. That's not what college is about.
Aside from keeping on top of national, world and economic news -- which you can do for free, thanks to the national newspapers Student Assembly buys for us -- the best thing you can do is get involved. It sounds clich, I know, but even the right kind of idealism goes nowhere unless you direct it somewhere.
It's easy to lose sight of the world picture when you have midterms every other week (or so it seems), work, take on (too many) extracurriculars and still try to have fun. And it's not like Hanover is exactly a major player on the national or world stage. The "Dartmouth Bubble" is real, and can blindside you if you're not ready for it. My one piece of advice is not to let it.
Big things often happen here in our little corner of New Hampshire. During the political season, our campus is awash with presidential candidates and would-be candidates. In 2004, John Kerry, Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, John Edwards and Joe Lieberman all made multiple visits here; Al Sharpton was the only Democratic candidate not to make an appearance in Hanover. Take advantage of them. Work for a campaign. Intern at a newspaper or for a think-tank. Write for one of the campus publications. Join the Young Democrats, College Republicans or Greens (preferably Young Dems). Start a Libertarian group here. Go around the Green shirtless in a convertible with the top down, waving a Kerry sign and shouting at the top of your lungs while Crossfire is being taped at the Top of the Hop and it's 7 degrees outside (really, this is much more fun than it sounds).
Whatever you choose to do once you get here, go about it with the right sort of idealism and do a lot of thinking. Keep your goals in mind, and don't lose touch with the real world.
We're all excited for you to be here and we look forward to great things.
