If you are reading this handbook, I assume that you are interested in the principles of liberty and recognize the importance of promoting liberty in both academia and society. There are two questions you may be asking yourself, though. First, is liberty a cause worthy enough for me to dedicate my time? Second, if liberty is a worthwhile cause, is starting a student organization the right thing to do? The first question I can easily answer. Liberty is constantly under attack in the modern world. In both society and academia, a belief in liberty is held by a minority of individuals in the face of a majority who seek authoritarian and oppressive policies that infringe individual rights. A stand must be taken now to rout greater support for liberty and protect the basic rights held by all individuals. The second question is more difficult, but can still be easily answered in the affirmative. There are three reasons why forming an organization at the student level is important.
First, the collegiate environment provides an ideal time to reach out to individuals interested in the ideas of liberty. During college, students are supposed to challenge their preconceived ideas and either learn that what they have been taught up to then is incorrect or legitimate in the face of opposing ideas. Whereas pro-liberty views may be silenced in other realms of life, they are more easily respected in an environment of free inquiry that college is supposed to represent. What’s more, it is during this exchange of ideas in the collegiate years that most people form their life-long beliefs. School is a very impressionable time for individuals. Developing a clear presence of the philosophy of liberty in this environment is essential to the acceptance of the ideas of liberty by individuals in the future. Even if other students do not embrace liberty while in school, they will be much more likely to be tolerant and respectful of such ideas in the future if a student organization for liberty exists.
Second, student organizations provide safe havens for students to explore the ideas of liberty in an otherwise hostile environment. The previous point emphasized the ideal of college as an open forum of ideas where constant debate and discourse occurs that shapes the beliefs of future society, but the reality is different. Students are tempted to sacrifice their beliefs for the sake of conformity with their peers and professors. An institutionalized organization that promotes liberty on campus, however, can provide both logistical and inspirational support for students interested in liberty. It is also a symbol students can look towards. Just knowing that there are others who support liberty can make all the difference in the world.
Third, students can make a difference. A Venezuelan student once told me, “We [students] are not just the future. We are the present too.” This statement is incredibly powerful. Preparing students to become the leaders of liberty in the future is one of the most obvious reasons to reach out to students. But rallying students to support the cause of liberty today has the tremendous potential to change society as we know it faster than anyone predicts. When you consider the impact that student protesters against the draft had in the 60’s of defining a generation, the support students rallied in opposition to apartheid South Africa in the 80’s, and the work of Venezuelan students to challenge dictatorial powers of Hugo Chavez and promote democracy today, it should be evident that students can transform society.
Continue to The Three Types of Organizations
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