No Conspiracy Here

“You can’t be a conservative Republican; you’re not heartless!” a friend recently said to me. This off-handed and not entirely serious comment highlighted a very real cultural phenomenon at Harvard: the monolithic way in which students in the liberal tree house often view conservatives. That is, all too frequently Harvard students forget that conservatives are actually people, not faceless supporters of the “vast right wing conspiracy,” nefarious Fox News contributors or simply bigots.

Most frustratingly, being a conservative at Harvard almost inevitably means being ideologically lumped together with other conservatives on and off campus. This is a common liberal rejoinder: “Well, what do you think of Ann Coulter? She’s crazy!” You see, Harvard conservatives don’t just need to defend their personal politics; they must also answer for the perceived crimes of Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. However, because of Harvard’s immense liberal community, there’s no comparable baggage for campus liberals; they aren’t harassed over e-mail lists or berated for any conservatives’ beastly perceptions of MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, Al Franken ‘73 or even Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)—and I assure you such perceptions exist.

Thus Harvard liberals who behave this way—reflexively demonizing their conservative counterparts—fail to realize that liberal-conservative labeling obscures many substantial differences in personal opinions. The Moral Reasoning 22, or “Justice,” student critiquing John Rawls in section will forevermore be called upon to defend the “conservative” viewpoint in any discussion.

But being a conservative doesn’t come with automatic positions on many issues, such as drug legalization, immigration and gay marriage. Libertarian conservatives, for instance, might be inclined to support the legalization of marijuana, while social conservatives might adamantly oppose it. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page argues for more legal immigration to bring about economic growth, while The National Review argues vehemently for a hiatus on all immigration—so that immigrants already here can be culturally assimilated. Disparities within the conservative position run the gamut, and to ignore these distinctions is simply narrow-minded.

The common perception that all conservatives think alike is closely tied to the idea of the “vast right-wing conspiracy”—that conservatives are somehow a sinister force. It implies that there is something deeply troubling, even wrong, about their beliefs. I remember the disgusted looks I received in my Justice section: people simply couldn’t believe that a Harvard student actually disagreed that taxes were an intrinsic moral good.

Perceptions that conservatives are wrong or evil serve to justify their exclusion and marginalization at Harvard. Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield ‘53 recently described fellow professors for The Boston Globe: “Everybody is a liberal and shows it. They conduct classes in such a way as to make conservatives feel excluded. The atmosphere is very politicized.”

In order to stop this exclusion, people at Harvard must stop lumping conservatives together. Conservatives don’t march in lockstep; and, we have no greater sense of ideological conformity than do our liberal brethren.

Whether judging students in section, or berating conservative classmates and friends, Harvard liberals should start practicing more of the open-mindedness and tolerance they so often preach.

Mark A. Adomanis ‘07, a Crimson editorial comper, lives in Pennypacker Hall.