In the 1902 room last Tuesday, I was checking out one of my favorite web site aggregators when I stumbled upon what I thought was an amusing Onion article. The headline read: "Georgia Threatens to Secede, Again." After clicking on the link, however, I was sent to a political blog of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where I was informed by a rather incredulous Jay Bookman that the Georgia state Senate by a margin of 43-1 had voted in support of a resolution threatening not only to ignore federal laws the senators deemed overbearing, but also to disband the entire United States government.
Senate Resolution 632 (for real, look it up) states that the Georgia Senate has the right to decide "how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged," to nullify any federal law the body deems oversteps states' rights and, finally, to dissolve the Constitution and thus the United States should the federal government put into law something the Senators judge to be in violation of the Constitution.
As absolutely ridiculous, illogical and downright treasonous as I (and hope most others)believe this resolution to be, it does serve as a sort of meta-issue one far enough out there that it will probably never happen, but realistic enough to consider examining. Although there is plenty to say about the right or responsibility of individual states to uphold their government's laws, I will leave that argument to more capable and knowledgeable writers in favor of trying to apply some of the ideas behind Georgian (and Texan!) petulance to our life here at Dartmouth. Even though most of us either laugh or hang our heads in disgust in response to Georgia's resolution, many of us behave in a similar way here at Dartmouth complaining and threatening to leave rather than working towards positive change.
Contrary to what they would have us believe during Dimensions or Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips, the College is not a perfect place. Although Dartmouth is beautiful, fun and full of wonderful opportunities, it is hard to go 12 hours without hearing some complaint about an aspect of Dartmouth culture: "the fraternity system is chauvinistic;" "there's too much administrative red tape and not enough funding for student groups;" "the Three 6 Mafia concert sucked;" or "our alcohol policies are ineffectual and cumbersome." The list of complaints goes on and on, but how many of those complainers actually do something about it?
Rather than actively work for change, most of us here at Dartmouth (myself included) typically choose to sit back, passing armchair resolutions against the current state of things and not doing anything choosing to complain and ignore rather than trying to change the status quo.
The comparison to the Georgia Senate isn't completely parallel most students don't threaten to drop out or disband the College. But the attitude is the same. Whether it is a state dropping out of the Union because its Senate does not agree with a progressive trend, or someone choosing not to join a fraternity or sorority because of a belief that the Greek system is too conservative, the point is that choosing not to participate is the most sure-fire way to uphold the ideals with which one so vehemently disagrees.
In the rare event that some conservative states secede in light of the progressive movement in Washington, D.C., we will be a weaker nation for it. No movement should go unchecked, and no democracy can survive without dissent.
Here at Dartmouth, we are weaker for every student who sits on the sidelines and complains doing so will only aid in the continuation of what some of us are moaning about. We need to be critical of our student government by joining the Assembly. Rally for change in the Greek system from inside a Greek house. Rant about the inefficiencies of the new administration in an administrative forum. Whatever you do, whatever you agree or disagree with, make your voice heard and take action.
