Lord Acton wrote, power tends to corrupt
and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Although he definitely wasn't a member of Students for a Democratic Society, Lord Acton's well-known phrase goes a long way toward responding to questions raised in Erich Hiner's column for The Post last Tuesday. Hiner accused the group of working outside the established political system and seeking only to provoke students' rebellious attitudes. In so doing, Hiner asserts, the organization is undermining any chance it has of bringing about change in our political system. Some of Hiner's criticisms may have been fair, including questions he raised about organization and the group's decision not to institute elected leadership. But there were also flaws in Hiner's argument.
To begin with, while Students for a Democratic Society offers serious criticism of the political establishment both on this campus and nationally, it is factually incorrect to say that the group will not work within the system. The truth is that the group's members have attempted to work within the university political system on numerous occasions. Will Klatt, probably the most prominent member, ran for Student Senate president during the 2006-2007 school year. Klatt and many other members were instrumental in organizing The Birthday Party ticket during last year's Student Senate election. It was members of this group, including yours truly, who presented a resolution to Student Senate last year condemning the OU Board of Trustees' then-impending decision to limit constituent input in the president's evaluation. This is only a small sampling of the work that the organization has done within the university system as it currently exists.
Yet it is true that many members are extremely critical of entrenched political systems and seek their complete overhaul through a nonviolent, thoroughly democratic revolution. This brings us back to Lord Acton's famous phrase. Many members keep the national political order in particular at arm's length precisely because they recognize that the absolute power enjoyed by our two-party corporate government corrupts.
Yes, sometimes working within the system is necessary. But it is also necessary to repudiate the notion that our system as it currently exists cannot be changed, that we must accept political domination by two parties beholden to corporate interests and the military-industrial complex. Capitulation to working permanently within this system can only prolong the problems facing our country, like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. There is also the chance G 17
Archives
Nathan Nelson
200809248757midsize.jpeg
