A friend recently told me that he had given up on pursuing a politics major because he was disgusted with Capitol Hill and no longer wanted any direct contact with it. Instead, he explained, he was going to pursue an economics degree and participate in politics indirectly.
While a major in economics is a worthy pursuit, I was alarmed by his decision because I believe it is indicative of a larger campus trend. Students get a taste of Washington’s dysfunction — either through an internship on the Hill or by watching seemingly perpetual Congressional gridlock in the news — and disengage with its political battle.
In the few months I’ve been on Hillsdale’s campus, I’ve been shocked to find how many students are so disillusioned with politics. That’s not to say politics isn’t prevalent on Hillsdale’s campus. Where else would Sen. Ted Cruz’s pseudo-filibuster be as popular with students as reality television shows are on other campuses? But after many political discussions with my friends over the past few months, the disengagement and disgust students have with politics has become painfully evident. Students generally talk only about the negativity in politics — there is a lot of that these days — and abstract political theory. I’ve had numerous discussions with friends about how Aristotle’s “Politics” is relevant to today’s political climate, but I very rarely have discussions about how to address the grave issues that face America today.
For a long time, this trend confused me. I could not comprehend how the college could do such a fantastic job of educating students, only to have those same students refuse to use that knowledge in the ideological conflict being waged in D.C. When I asked about how they reconcile this, my friends told me that they believe politics in America is too far gone.
Their resignation to demise, I believe, is rooted in a deeper feeling of hopelessness. Hillsdale students don’t lack intelligence or passion for America’s political system. They just don’t believe any mortal man can save it. In reality, if this view dominates, we will be guilty of perpetuating the same dysfunction we all abhor. Only those with hope can have any chance to save the American political system.
Instead of being suffocated by hopelessness, Hillsdale students need to realize that their very existence and the existence of other young, bright and moral individuals like themselves is that hope. It would be delusional to believe that Hillsdale students can do this alone, but they can lead the assault against the destructive status quo.
A monumental break from the status quo that leads to revolutionary change isn’t unprecedented. The soldiers fighting for George Washington during America’s war for independence didn’t have many reasons to hope. They were a rag-tag militia fighting the world’s most formidable army with only one-third of the colonists supporting them. Yet through bloody defeats, harsh winters and insufficient rations, enough of Washington’s band kept the hope of independence alive to outlast the British and win the war. If we hold onto hope that D.C. can be cleaned up the way the soldiers in the American revolution held onto hope, the path of this nation can be righted.
Only those who believe in their own causes can even hope to succeed. Washington won’t clean itself up; we have to do that. And once we believe that change in Washington is even possible, there are many practical things we can do. We need to stop complaining about how economically and socially liberal the political parties have become, take them back, and fix them ourselves. Moreover, in addition to taking back the political parties, some of us need to run for office. Though Washington is the focus of many people’s political disdain, federal office is not the only level of government that needs our engagement. Policies handed down by state, county, and city governments can have an equally large effect on people’s lives.
You may call me naive and say Washington will never change, but I can guarantee that if good men do nothing, evil will surely triumph.
