It is important for us, as inheritors of our previous generations’ political epigenetics, to recognize, cultivate, and perhaps even celebrate the inherent performativity of our political action.
The act of scrutinizing our scrutiny becomes especially salient as we grapple with the extent to which cover-ups are an entrenched component of the systemic phenomena we loathe yet in which we may one day be complicit.
My high school English teacher once told me something I didn’t understand until last year, after living through the unifying challenges to well-being posed by pandemic life: “Wherever you go, there you are.”
At Harvard, we spend a lot of time analyzing, discussing, and dissecting the world around us. Perhaps we should spend more time trying to make it better.
Democracy thrives when people show in public how different their beliefs are; disagreement makes our ideological fault lines clearer, giving people more ability to position themselves according to their needs and values.
"Social activism at its finest constantly asks questions, seeks new perspectives, and changes course when the facts so require. We Harvard liberals, myself included, must be more willing to join this debate on the ground rather than merely pontificate from the sidelines."
This school can be a scary, oppressive place. It can be lonely and sad and deflating, and especially so if it’s the first time that you’re feeling those things in any significant way.
