I must admit to a sense of schadenfreude whenever I learn of foolish occurrences at other Ivy League colleges. It is devilishly fun for me to snicker at the misfortunes of our Ivy League peers, smugly satisfied that my school is, at least, not in their shoes. However, when such foolishness has far-reaching and dangerous implications, then that self-righteous snobbery transforms into genuine alarm. And then suddenly the smug superiority vanishes as I realize that the Dartmouth I love so much is vulnerable to the very same troubles.
The misfortune in question happened at Harvard University. During an interview with Megyn Kelly on Fox News, Rachel Huebner, a Harvard student and staff writer for the Harvard Crimson, told an anecdote about a fellow student who wanted to put an American flag in his dorm. His roommate immediately stopped him, decrying the flag as a “political statement that he was unwilling to make.”
This is a troubling tale. I have never considered American patriotism a source of shame or entertained the notion that I ought to be pressured to believe otherwise. Why should I? American pride does not turn me into some sneering imperialist. It does not make me respect other countries any less or dampen my curiosity to learn about them. Most importantly, my patriotism infringes on neither the rights nor the beliefs of others. Just as I am allowed my belief in American ideals, so, too, are others entitled to their own beliefs. Our perspectives may differ, but they also do not impinge on each other’s — nor do any of us have the right to force anyone else to believe differently.
And so is the roommate’s hypocrisy in Huebner’s story exposed. Both friend and roommate are entitled to freedom of speech in whatever manner they choose. No one’s rights override anyone else’s, nor should anyone be asked to sacrifice their own freedoms to make way for another’s. Why, then, did the roommate ask the friend to do just that? If the friend is an American patriot and wishes to fly an American flag, then by all means he should be allowed to do so without repercussion.
All of this has hit home particularly hard for this writer, whose own dorm is adorned with the American flag. I have always seen it as symbolic of this country’s commitments to the very personal freedoms I have discussed. The adversities and challenges that come with such freedoms are welcome, because no price is too high for liberty. Sure, the United States may not be a perfect nation, but what country is? To me, the U.S. is unique and exceptional — yes, exceptional — in its championing of free expression and civil liberties. And more than anything else, it is my home.
These are ideals to be embraced, not shunned. Another person being “unwilling” to make such a statement should not shame me into putting away my flag. It is uncouth at best, and unacceptable at worst, for anyone to deny my right to self-expression because they are “unwilling” to hold the same beliefs as I do. Students at Harvard apparently think otherwise.
Typically, I would find this a cause for an eye-roll and a derisive snicker. Why take a Fox News interview so seriously? Something so silly couldn’t possibly happen here, could it? Given many recent events at Dartmouth, however, I can no longer be so sure. Ours is a school that has already allowed protests to divide our campus, praising such destructive behavior while demonizing a world that is, apparently, not very nice. Ours is a school at which a cardiac research fundraiser, “Phiesta,” was shut down because “offending even one member of the Dartmouth community was not worth the potential benefits.” And ours is a school at which cherished traditions continue to be trampled by a complacent student body, with no regard for what makes Dartmouth so unique among its Ivy League peers.
Could a future Dartmouth be one at which opinion becomes taboo? Will it come to the point where every word I say must be so carefully engineered, so meticulously manufactured to hurt as few feelings as possible that I am afraid to speak at all? Could this Brave New Dartmouth espouse a future in which feelings are the only criteria that matter? Outlandish though the prospect may be, it seems less so in today’s context. As for me, my allegiance continues to stand with the same ideals upon which my country was built and the same ideals that Dartmouth should strive to uphold.
The same ideals that allow the Stars and Stripes to fly freely in my room. And long may they fly, so long as American liberty remains alive.
