The Bowdoin Orient

Though the new layout in Moulton's light room is not without its claustrophobic critics, it has provided an unexpected place for students to engage in unusual mealtime conversations.

This Saturday, Bowdoin will be hosting a queer conference that will give all students, gay or straight, the chance to see and appreciate the kind of community action that has changed the course of American history.

The Occupy Wall Street protests that have sprouted up in cities across the globe have garnered considerable public attention. Supporters have taken particular pleasure in a recent survey conducted by the GfK Roper Public Affairs consulting firm, which found that over a third of Americans support the "99-percenters" and that 58 percent oppose current American politics.

As the summer approaches and edges closer to next year's presidential campaign, the opportunity to charter a new course for the party has arisen. Thus far, polls consistently show Republicans thoroughly unhappy, unimpressed and unengaged with the list of likely, and even far-fetched, candidates for the party's nomination. Each of them has been trying to lay claim to the Reagan-mantle of conservatism, one that embraces social, fiscal and foreign policy conservatism.

In the months following New Jersey governor Chris Christie's election, a debate swept across the state over the best way for New Jersey to make its budget for the upcoming year. A large budget gap following years of irresponsible spending on the part of the state legislature is forcing the newly elected governor to find a way to make the state's ends meet. He essentially had two options: the first being to reign in spending and reduce the bloated government bureaucracy or, raise taxes.

In late January, as politicians in Washington began work on the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year, battle lines were being drawn in Wisconsin over a similar issue. On one side were the small-government conservatives who recognized the state's growing fiscal trouble—one that would leave the state billions of dollars in debt and demanded a serious cutback on government spending. On the other side were union cronies, big-government leftists and permanent malcontents determined to engage in class warfare.

Though "the Great Recession" might have technically ended last year, its political reverberations have grown only more intense. This is especially the case for Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats who, having lost control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections, are struggling to balance their ever-present desire for expanded government with public demands for fiscal responsibility. Prior to the midterms, Democrats could use their majorities to ignore calls for small government policies, but doing so today would only further inflame a movement across the country holding the Obama administration accountable.

Patriotism, defined as a dedication to one's country and loyalty to the principles for which it stands, vastly transcends most other manifestations of pride. Pride in a local sports team, alma mater, or even occupation may mean a great deal to an individual, but it is ultimately the bond between a person and his or her country that the most has been sacrificed for, both in terms of cost and life. The rank and file of the intellectual left is no doubt puzzled by such a dynamic. There is no logic, their argument goes, in killing and dying for a country that you were merely born into. For these individuals, a country is little more than a piece of land and to tether one's identity and livelihood with it is purely nonsensical.

One of democracy's shortcomings could arguably be its greatest strength: the protection it gives people to say practically whatever they want, whenever they want. It essentially gives people the right to complain or be negative, since opinions everyone agrees on don't need the protection democracy affords them.

Times of strife typically provide watershed moments for people to reflect on their values and ideals. These moments demand that members of society identify where they stand and whom they stand with. The resulting dialogue among competing visions is a cornerstone of the democratic process—elections, of course, serve to decide which vision the majority prefers. It is therefore essential to understand that political parties are not just organizations dedicated to getting politicians elected.

A little over a year ago, Time Magazine ran a cover with the image of a giant GOP elephant under the title "Endangered Species." The substance of the accompanying story was difficult to misinterpret: The Republican Party was in political disarray, having lost both Congress and the White House. The party lacked popular support and a strong, visible leader who could articulate its message.

Thomas Nixon Carver once said, "The trouble with radicals is that they only read radical literature, and the trouble with conservatives is that they don't read anything." The political tug-of-war between Democrats and Republicans leading up to the midterm elections this November seem almost comically designed to bear out Carver's point.

With the school year drawing to a close and another crop of Bowdoin students getting ready to end their four years here, it seems appropriate to wish the Class of 2010 the best of luck in their future endeavors. In fact, it seems almost necessary given the almost Herculean task of securing employment in the current economy.

Conservatives like to say that they are conservatives first and Republicans second. While noble, such a sentiment is na‹ve at best and dangerous at worst for those who seek to reinvigorate the Republican Party with fresh ideas and an intellectual creed that is reminiscent of Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America." But conservative Americans are increasingly feeling that the best way to vent their frustration with the government is to attack any politician in any party that disagrees with their views.

The nonpartisan Rasmussen polling company shows Republicans leading Democrats by significant margins on every major political issue: the economy, national security, Iraq, education, immigration, Social Security, taxes and, not surprisingly, health care. With seven months to go before the midterm election some Democrats feel they have time to change the national mood.

The notion that the United States should behave "like an equal member of the global community on the foreign policy stage," as Catlin Hurwit asserted in last week's op-ed "Patriotism without exceptionalism" is as misguided as it is dangerous.

The public domain is a peculiar thing. The concept itself stems from the idea that some things are not owned by anyone, and therefore belong to everyone for free and fair use. It is this principal that newspapers, for example, use to justify publishing the names of individuals involved in activities pertaining to the "public interest."

Democrats are in trouble, that much is certain. Even the most objective onlooker would agree the Democrats have managed to implode themselves. They enjoyed historic levels of popularity both for their party and policies, while their Republican opponents were so distrusted that politicos speculated the beginning of a new 40-year Democratic majority in Congress.

As yet another semester at Bowdoin comes to an end, so too does the present decade. Americans, and indeed members of the global community, have faced extraordinary challenges and obstacles in the past 10 years. Indeed, looking back at the events that unraveled through 2000 to 2009, it is difficult to feel anything but despair at what the decade has brought us.

Just over a year ago, Americans around the country eagerly celebrated the election of Barack Obama to the presidency and the increased Democratic majorities in Congress. The 2008 election was supposed to symbolize the beginning of a new era, one where the principals of progressive governance would prevail just as Barack Obama himself had.

Upon leaving the presidency, George Washington famously warned that the manifestation of political parties would create a class of professional politicians with no interest other than a lust for power. The results would undermine American democracy and make a failure of the values this nation was built upon.

On October 2, filmmaker Michael Moore's latest documentary, "Capitalism: A Love Story," will be showing in theatres across the globe. If the documentary is anything like Moore's previous work, it promises to be provocative. In a Huffington Post column, Moore describes the film as an opportunity to see "the stuff the nightly news will rarely show you." Interviewing everyone from "someone" at the Wall Street Journal to a "whistleblower" on the Senate Banking Committee, Moore attempts to discredit capitalism by attributing ills of society to it.

Throughout the course of human events, mankind has been forced to confront extraordinary challenges and reaffirm values long considered fundamental to the human experience. Given the current economic climate, little thought is needed to recognize that at this moment in history Americans are at such a crossroads. Today, as in the past, there are loud clamors for a rejection of traditional American sensibilities.

Shortly after Kansas became the first state in the union to outlaw alcoholic beverages in 1881, a woman by the name of Carrie Nation set about personally enforcing the new state law. Considering herself "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like," Nation quickly became well known for storming into bars and saloons, reprimanding the patrons for their actions, and smashing any bottles of liquor with a hatchet.