Red, Right and Blue - 04/28/10

When I sat down to write my last column of the year, I was tempted to write about the war in Afghanistan, the nuclear proliferation treaty or the way the world would look without America.

However, I will have many chances next year to address these problems, and since it is my last column of this year, I thought it appropriate to write about something a little closer to home — that is, within the bubble of Middlebury Campus.

In the modern world, the term “diversity” has become a catch phrase for good of all kinds. It has become a prerequisite for the places we live, the schools we go to and even the activities in which we take part.

Enshrined in law by the Supreme Court’s argument in support of affirmative action, and supported by countless organizations, schools and individuals, it has been given a place in the American dictionary of blessings. This has occurred for excellent reason.

An emphasis on diversity helps to break down class, cultural, religious, racial and economic boundaries, allowing people both to understand their similarities with others and to learn from their differences.

As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor ruled in Grutter v. Bollinger, there is a “compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.”

Here at Middlebury, where students comes from many different countries, states, economic, religious and cultural backgrounds, we have the luxury of taking advantage of these educational benefits.

The roots of Justice O’Connor’s argument in defense of affirmative action lie in the idea that the bringing together of people of opposing beliefs and differing backgrounds creates a diversity of ideas, which broadens students’ understandings, and forces them to think about and test their own beliefs and assumptions. Here, again, I believe us to be lucky as Middlebury students.

However, as a member of a small minority of conservatives, I think we are missing a key element of that diversity — the diversity of political opinion.

In many ways, my fellow conservatives and I have been lucky in attending such a liberal school. We have been given the chance to understand opposing opinions and to think seriously about whether our own beliefs are any more than unthinking opinion.

But there is also something lost in a place where conservative views are hardly ever taken up and where liberal ideas are not usually tested.

In the last few presidential elections, it has become clear that America is split almost half and half between those who vote Republican and those who vote Democrat.

As citizens of such a divided country, it is important for us to understand the views on either side of the divide, so that we can clearly see the options, decide where we lie, learn to argue for what we believe and understand the assumptions upon which different administrations function.

I am not sure that any of this is possible without real study of both political understandings, something which could be materially furthered by an increase of the diversity of political opinion on campus.

I am aware that most of you who read my column do not agree with my political opinions, and I want to thank you for reading it anyway. I do not pretend that I alone can speak for the few conservatives on this campus, much less for Conservatism in general, or that my column can do much to further the diversity of thought.

My hope in writing it is to help promote healthy political discourse of the sort that promotes education and good citizenship. In that spirit, I welcome your challenges to my views.