In my more pensive moments (and believe me, there aren't many of them), I sometimes ask myself: what would my life at Harvard have been like had I been liberal? How much different would things really be? And so I engage in the occasional thought experiment, imagining myself in the tattered shoes and ripped jeans of a liberal. The results have been quite interesting.

At first I thought it would be a wonderful life. My views would be affirmed at every corner. Professors and teaching fellows would smile upon my eloquently-voiced liberal ideas. I would have fireside chats in my Adams or Dunster House suite, where my liberal friends and I would engage in pleasure-filled hours of ideological mutual masturbation.

"I believe in the welfare state, hmm yeah..."

"Oh, yes, oooh aaah, I believe in the welfare state! And touch me there again, if you would be so kind..."

Being liberal would also change my life as an editorialist. My ideas would be breathtakingly original. I can already imagine the titles of the controversial, ground-breaking editorials that would provoke heated discussion throughout the College.

"A Defense of Abortion." (With thanks to J.J.Thomson.)

"Three Cheers for Feminism!"

"Gay Rights: A Pretty Good Thing."

I wouldn't necessarily have to write for The Crimson though. I could write for Perspective, and spend my time not only preaching but also door dropping to the converted. (I would give anything for the title "Salmagundi Editor.")

But then I stop and ask myself more questions. Maybe being a liberal at Harvard isn't all it's cracked up to be. Would I be able to handle the boredom of being "just another Harvard liberal?" Or the anonymity associated with being just a statistic, one out of several thousand registered Democrats?

Even if you distinguish yourself as an outspoken and eloquent campus liberal, you're still just another bleeding heart. The only difference is that you bleed particularly well.

One of the drawbacks to being a member of the Left at Harvard is the apathy that plagues the entire liberal establishment. This apathy is undeniable: liberals themselves admit there is a big problem. In the most recent issue of Perspective Adam T. Conway '97 does an admirable job of exposing the apathy that strikes at the heart of Harvard's liberal community. As he reports, many major liberal groups and movements have experienced severe problems in galvanizing their membership.

Conway cites numerous examples: the low turnout at the Ethnic Studies teach-in and this year's Take Back the Night rally; the decline in Students for Choice membership from 80 to six; Amnesty International's active membership of five people.

At last year's elections for the College Democrats--a group that used to be a driving force for liberal activism on campus--20 people showed up (half of them were running for offices). One candidate summed up the situation in this way: "Look around this room. This turnout is pathetic."

This crippling apathy comes in part from the lack of a mission. Indeed, the goals of liberals at Harvard have been met. What more can the liberal community here do? Try and win the masthead of Peninsula over to liberalism?