Princeton is, for the most part, fairly representative of the wider United States population. We have a range of economic backgrounds, from dirt poor to filthy rich, from East Coast to West Coast and everything in between. We even have some self-declared socialists, but I have yet to see any Tea Party presence or even to hear any students express their support for the movement. The lack of a visible Princeton Tea Party, and the scarcity of protesting in general, reflects the busy nature of Princeton culture.
The Tea Party movement does have legitimate concerns that cannot and should not be ignored. The size of the federal budget deficit, the relationship between government and business, and the effects of regulation are all real worries for a large number of Americans. So maybe the problem is ideological. Do Princetonians not hate deficits enough? No, Princeton has its fair share of pro-free-market, anti-deficit students and professors who would be more than happy to discuss their views in depth.
Some may cite the lack of action as a sign of Princeton’s political apathy and its disconnection from the outside world. But maybe, just maybe, what really lies at the heart of the issue is that Princeton students have little interest in the Tea Party’s sole distinguishing trait, its loud protests. The movement expresses the lowest common denominator of ideas already articulated by other campus organizations and groups. There is College Republicans for the Tea Party’s anti-Obama and anti-big-government views and the Anscombe Society for social conservatism. The only aspect of the Tea Party movement not already exemplified by Princeton groups is the Tea Party’s very idiosyncratic form of political expression. Quite frankly, we are just too busy to be wearing tricorner hats and waving misspelled signs. The same can be said of our relationship with any number of other political movements. Princetonians do not protest just to protest: We make the time to understand complexity and figure out how to actually solve problems.
It is at this point that our busy lives save us from embarrassment. Over the past few days and weeks, we have had over 1,000 prefrosh come visit, with activity fairs upon activity fairs, open houses upon open houses, and meetings upon meetings. And don’t forget our dance shows, from diSiac to Raks Odalisque, each and every one a must-see event just like our arch sings and Triangle shows. On top of all that, we have studying to do and problem sets to finish. Who has time to go down to Washington and make congressmen uncomfortable? Going off campus costs vital hours needed for studying in the library or partying on the Street. We simply do not have the time to be half-hearted in any of our extracurriculars, since if we do not care enough to do things properly, we do not care enough to do them at all.
We know that it is impossible to boil down politically and socially complex issues to a single banner, and we are too busy to try. Too often, Tea Partiers and other activists open themselves up to mockery by making simplistic comparisons which a few seconds with a history textbook would correct. Comparing President Barack Obama or President George W. Bush to Adolph Hitler falls apart when one realizes the complex manner in which Nazism balanced institutionalized racism with a thirst for power. Equating a change in the size of the government by a few percentage points in either direction to moving toward Communism or anarchy completely undervalues the suffering felt by those affected by either system. Demanding that the federal government keep its hands off Medicare — OK, that one is just stupid. I try my best to believe that the average protester, whether an anti-globalist hippie or an anti-tax Tea Partier, is an intelligent and responsible citizen acting in good faith, but a large number of such activists combine an unbelievable abundance of free time with a scarcity of thought.
So drink and be merry. Sign up for an extra class and join another club. Stay busy and stay away from hastily written slogans and loud banners. Princetonian apathy is too often thought of just as a bad thing. We should instead celebrate our unwillingness to blindly protest any cause. Our busy lives force us to avoid acting half-heartedly, requiring us to either commit fully or not at all. We have to put thought into what we do, so that we only need to do it once.
Christopher Troein is a sophomore from Windsor, England. He can be reached at ctroein@princeton.edu.
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