<p>Poster #2 is an idiot, and probably one of the reasons you feel so stifled as a conservative. I wonder what he/she's doing in college? I'm a conservative myself, even though I'm an atheist, pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. However, I firmly believe in small government, American primacy, and capitalism. And I don't care what other people's political viewpoints are; the funny thing is, the Left makes a big deal of free speech, but then quickly shuts down when it hears voices from the right.</p>
<p>There's a funny quote from an anonymous source that I really like. "Liberals tend to be the poor and the enlightened. Conservatives are the rich and the pragmatic." I like this quote because it portrays both sides in an equal light without having a negative connotation on either. When talking about college professors and students, though, the important contrast here is between "enlightened" and "pragmatic." Think about it: what exactly do college professors do? They teach, do research, and write books. Essentially, they live very comfortably in an ivory tower debating their issues of expertise with other academics in similar positions. Nothing they say or argue will probably ever be implemented into any kind of policy. They are the "enlightened," but also the totally disconnected and theoretically. The real world runs of pragmatism, which is why these people are often considered brilliant and then asked to wait outside while the adults make the decisions.</p>
<p>And let's talk about college students. I go to an Ivy leage school where roughly 80% of the student body self-describes as "liberal" or "left of center." What does almost everyone from my school do post-graduation? They go on to big-name law firms, medical schools, or to jobs on Wall Street that will eventually land them in business schools that people like Morgan Stanley, Rockafeller, Geoffry Immlet, and you know, The Man, came out of. </p>
<p>Which brings me to my point. Liberalism espouses ideas that everyone wants to believe in. They're fun. Everyone wishes leftist ideas were true; admit it, you probably do too. I spent the majority of my life being an extreme liberal because it's so easy. No one wants to admit that the world's problems need careful consideration and need to be fixed over a very long period of time through the correct channels. On the other hand, gee, revolution sure sounds awesome. It's very easy when you believe in easy, quick solutions to problems and are able to put a face on the cause of things like poverty, injustice, disease, war, etc. It would be really really great if there was a centralized foe that we as policymakers and activists could fight against. It's much harder to envision a world in which problems are complex and interconnected, and need to be dealt with painstakingly and individually. </p>
<p>As college students, it's our job to be aware of the fact that we're the next generation of leaders, movers and shakers of the world. There are two ways to approach this idea. We can approach it realistically and with the knowledge that our role will be mostly one of preserving the existing order and standing of the shoulders of thousands of years of humanity, while at the same time making steady progress. But who wants to approch it that way? To believe that we're nothing more than the vanguard of civilization and that our additions will be anything less than drastic? Never! However, believing that we can sweep the globe and change the way very fundamental truths operate by recycling stupid ideas of stupid people who died hundreds of years ago - that really sounds appealing.</p>
<p>Think about it. Where was the last time a brilliant professor of a leftist theory was asked to be a part of any kind of policymaking body? Alexander Wendt, the absolutely genius father of constructivism, comes to mind. The man is literally a living legend - but he will never, ever be asked for advice on foreign policy issues. So why do I hold him in such high esteem? For the same reason I hold Marx in such high esteem: he's a critical centerpiece of Western culture. The beauty of Western culture is that it's very capitalistic in nature. By capitalistic I mean that it places a very high premium on the anarchy of intellectual evolution and individual enterprise. Marx's criticism of capitalism made the system stronger, and reaffirmed the need for "free markets, free minds, and peace." Wendt's critique of the system of international relations will probably end in policymakers being able to identify the flaws in the current ways of thinking and make their rationale behind things like war and defense more coherent.</p>
<p>So perhaps that's why we have leftist professors. We're going to spend the rest of our lives discovering the truth (err, if we want to make any money, that is), so perhaps the marketplace of ideas theory dictates that we should be exposed to something different for a little bit before the real world takes over.</p>