Dear Southwestern University students,
I turned 60 yesterday, and I guess that means I’ve been around a pretty long time. The older I get, the more I worry about the world you have inherited (when I’m not complaining about stiffness in certain joints and crossing my fingers that my other hip won’t have to be replaced).
The last seven months have consisted of endless intersecting crises. As an intellectual community and in the liberal arts tradition, we must look at everything that is happening, identify the commonalities, and prepare for full, and civil, participation in public life during these turbulent times. Together we must navigate a global pandemic while addressing individual responses and needs. We must engage in social activism while understanding the reasons for taking action. We must discern the differences between science and belief. We must explore innovation and opportunities in the midst of a shrinking economy. Amazingly and historically, these crises are all happening with the presidential election as a backdrop.
This morning I read about a national survey conducted by The Upshot and Siena College that found that right now people are worried less about themselves—although there’s plenty to worry about there—and more about “the stability of American democracy.” Our future as a nation appears dark right now, and that is such a devastating feeling. I can think of only one other time in my life when it also felt as though the country was at risk of tearing itself apart. That was during the 1968 presidential campaign, which took place amid race riots and antiwar protests. I was a child then, but I could sense my parents’ anxiety about this yawning chasm between what they felt they knew and believed in and what was happening in a new and frightening sociological and political landscape.
Our actions over the next few days will matter. The opinion section of The New York Times warns that the “weeks following the election could very well be the most dangerous weeks in this country since the Civil War.” Previous presidential elections held during American crises have triggered realignments that replotted the course of our country. Vote if you are eligible to do so. It is our responsibility as Americans.
No matter the outcome of the election, there will likely be turmoil and perhaps even violence and tragedy. But not here at Southwestern. This is where we will come together, in much the same way we have come together as a community to manage our way through the threat of the coronavirus. We are here to protect one another. Tomorrow and the next few weeks, we will talk, teach, listen, and take care of each other. We are a place of learning and teaching for not just one history, but for all of our histories. That is our mission. In the darkest of times, education is the light that must keep burning. If you are anxious, angry, upset, or frightened, we are here for you. I invite you to contact me directly if I can be of assistance and encourage you to participate in our small group and individual
post-election programming. Together we can think about our future actions and ways we can create positive change even though it may seem so very difficult.
Mark Twain warned before his death, “History never repeats itself, but it rhymes.” Personally, I am sick of the rhyming. The time has come for you, our students, to write the future’s free verse.
Sincerely,
