The follies of compromise

President Barack Obama, on December 10, 2009, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway and boldly proclaimed, “We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honor...those ideals by upholding them not when it’s easy, but when it is hard.” While he was referencing the necessity of upholding the Geneva Conventions during armed conflict, the same can undoubtedly be said about the irrefutable moral obligation to preserve, protect and defend the timeless precept of intellectual diversity and openness at institutions of higher learning. Most pertinently, ensuring that the unsustainable trend of fearing public expressions of divergent viewpoints finally comes to an end—especially within our new freshmen class—should be a priority for all students in order to prevent the rise of vapid ideological echo chambers.

Ancient legends of the first century anno Domini claim that the Roman Emperor Nero of the Julio-Claudian dynasty played a fiddle as he watched Rome burn the ground, of his own doing. The rampant spread of anti-intellectualism across college campuses in favor of imperially pushing a singular narrative as universally true and categorically imperative is a problem that millennials must tackle head on, courageously and carefully. If we fail to shift the paradigm affecting our collective unconscious, then we provide leeway towards burning an integral element of Duke University to ashes—freedom of expression. Open societies are predicated on the idea that freedom of expression and thought is essential in improving our grasp of reality.

Yet, a litany of events on college campuses across the country have served to undermine this precious principle entwined within the fabric of Western civilization and within the soul of America. Indeed, certain students at Yale University have signed a petition repealing the First Amendment of the American Constitution. Some students at Stanford University have demanded that their new university president be nonwhite, transgendered or female. Students at several campuses have been responsible for silencing and preventing former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, Charles Murray and Ayaan Hisi Ali from speaking. 

A blatant disregard towards the ability of students to engage in ideological exchange limits the degree of intellectual advancement an individual can undergo at a time where students are meant to be challenged to form a more cohesive and holistic perspective. The seemingly endless lists of demands that lack a serious avenue of discussion between the perceived oppressors of administrative officials and beleaguered students always leads to a lack of progress that may have otherwise been achieved by navigating and working within the system through paths like student government and reasoned demands for serious discussion, instead of beginning from outside the edges of mutual understanding. Unreasonable demands embedded in a narrow vision excluding others and disparaging the ideals of a meritocracy weaken the direction taken up by the intelligentsia. Silencing other voices from speaking instead of engaging in debate and an interchange of ideas stifles the process of enlightenment, and only protects students from personal development and cognitive advancement.

Ultimately, an extremist narrative permeating this small sample set of a slew of absurd actions taken by radicals at universities nationwide has served to slowly dismantle the central tenets of open societies. Through intransigent methods that divide and dissuade sympathizers towards their cause, radicals on campuses have repelled supporters from what are sometimes noble, worthy causes. More importantly, a concerted effort towards limiting freedom of expression has cast a spectre of necessitated fear over those who may otherwise disagree with the aims of these protestors, and yield various viewpoints differing than what is, to these radicals, the only way forward. Tolerance cannot be claimed when intolerance for different perspectives is displayed. Understanding cannot be valued when an immediate reaction towards alternative opinions are deemed ignorant. The truth cannot be reached unless we allow a process towards attaining truth to transpire.

Nevertheless, I take solace in the words of the fictional character Rorschach from the comic-book series, “Watchmen.” He declares, “Never compromise, not even in the face of armageddon.” Compromising values in freedom of thought in an effort to be free of thought is the wrong course of action and must be stopped at every corner possible. The future of Duke University depends on it.

John Guarco is a Trinity senior.